Don't Go
by OrangeMacawWorld
Summary: Separated into two volumes, "Don't Go" concerns the tragic events that surround the Spix's Macaw Tribe during the final decade of the 20th Century. In the first volume, Eduardo and Mimi are forced to survive a raging war, and in the second one, Jewel and Roberto form a grand friendship, only for it to be broken several years later by an utterly appalling natural disaster.
1. A Message to Send

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Greetings to all "Rio" fans that belong to this archive of wonderful literature! My username is OrangeMacawWorld, and as I am brand-new to this community, I will briefly describe myself; to put it simply, I am a 14-year-old Italian-American that enjoys engaging in the art of literary description, and to paint pictures with words, so to speak. Now, I present to you my very first "Rio" fanfiction story, titled "Don't Go." The origins of this work of mine date back to September of 2016, when the first draft was initiated. To say the least, it took a long while for me to perfect it.**_

 _ **As you almost certainly know already from the summary of the story, it will be divided into two volumes, though both will be published together as a single work on this archive. In the entirety of "Don't Go," the early lives of Eduardo, Mimi, Jewel, Roberto, and Felipe will all be covered. However, the respective reigns of both Felipe and Eduardo from the year 2000 until the events of "Rio 2" are subjects that are to be touched upon in another story that I have planned. The last thing that I should mention as of now is that this story is the first entry in a trilogy that I am planning to write, with the three stories being connected by a single character.**_

 _ **Now that I have explained all that is necessary to know before reading this story, I would like to encourage you all to provide me criticism, as it is a vital component in the improvement in all aspects of my literary expression. Without a further ado, let's fly!**_

 _VOLUME I – CALLS OF SORROW_

February 1st, 1991, Northeastern Amazonas, Brazil

Deep in the Brazilian Amazon, the yellow sun gradually creeped out from behind the jungle that stood beyond the waters of the Amazon Basin, as it now performed its daily task of reaching its position in the sky so that its light could pass over all things below it. Not long afterward, it came to stand far above the green, leafy canopy borne by the vast rainforest, whilst the sun itself flared ever the more frequently.

As the light of the sun subsequently began to encompass all living and nonliving things that could bear light upon them, it touched the old bark of the trees, the placid waters of the Amazon River, the coarse fur borne by the wide variety of mammals, and the silky feathers possessed by the even-wider variety of birds. Within only a few moments from which the sun resumed its upward shift within the early morning sky, (of which displayed a wondrous combination of faint blue, pink, and orange) all darkness apart from the shadows created by the canopy then ceased to even come into contact with the jungle or its diverse assortment of fauna.

Populating the vibrant sky at the moment was a rather homogenous array of altocumulus clouds, which tended to amass together into large groups, though none of the clouds ever came close enough to one another in order to form a single large cloud. Also notable was that not a single cloud that hung in the sky as of now seemed to bear even the slightest hue of gray, which served as an indication to all creatures who had yet awoken that the morning and most likely the entire day would be absent of rain. This certainly differed from much of the weather that the rainforest had been experiencing for the past week or so, which had been quite ghastly, consisting of constant rain, lightning, and thunder.

Now in its final morning phase, the sun maintained its rapid upward advance until the pace at which it continued its rise significantly decreased in speed, before the sun itself finally came to an abrupt halt. It then began distorting, appearing to the eye as if it were a ring of fire that bore a dissolving circumference.

Complementing this marvelous sight was the early morning gloom, which now enhanced the sun's overall resemblance to any circular object that bore the capability of being able to melt. Following the passing of thirty odd minutes, the sun had completed the process of its aerial ascension, beginning to illuminate the entire Amazon as typical. Beams of light now seeped through the countless collections of leaves that were borne by the jungle's equally-as-countless number of trees, forming the Amazonian canopy.

In turn, a significant number of animals that had once had nothing more than mere shadows pass over them now bore light upon them, as the sunlight now touched the forest floor. Light subsequently entered every hollow, burrow, and insect nest that made its presence within the jungle, thenceforth resulting in an utterly stunning visual manifestation of the beauty provided by the rainforest.

Across the duration of the sun's ascension, an incalculable number of eyes of many colors had been set upon its elegance, these eyes belonging to tropical creatures of every genus, species, and sub-species that could be possibly borne by one's imagination. However, the most notable among the many creatures that had caught a view of the sun had been the many neotropical parrots that inhabited the jungle, especially the macaws, with nearly all of whom belonging to one of the six distinct Macaw Tribes. The birds themselves had gathered in groups that widely varied in size, averaging at around three to four birds per a branch that had been occupied in order for the birds to have obtained the excellent view that the Amazonian sun had offered.

Several minutes after the sun had begun holding its position within the morning sky, the time reached approximately 8:00 AM, an hour that held much importance within the Tribes – indeed, it was now the hour which bore upon it the initiation of patrols within each Macaw Tribes' territories, conducted on the part of many dozens of macaws from each Tribe. As an increasing number of macaws then began to arise from their slumber within their comfortable residences that composed the insides of the jungle's towering trees, a sense of alertness passed over all of those that would be held responsible for patrolling their respective areas.

Owing to each of these birds' routines that they carried out every morning however, it would not be until a further quartet of minutes came to pass when they finally made their swift departures from their hollows, thus beginning their patrols. Overall, the majority of these macaws' patrols lasted for only twenty minutes or so, and afterward, they would find a tree in order to observe the Tribes' borders, which was certainly a much more docile task than observing whilst also hovering, gliding, or flying.

Altogether, the territories that constituted the six Macaw Tribes that all called the enormous Amazon their home formed the shape of a clock, with each Tribal territory bearing great resemblance to every two hours that was marked on the face of a clock. Many falls, valleys, gorges, bodies of freshwater, and even the occasional mountain or two were present within each territory, which in turn meant that borders had been altered on a regular basis for the sake of the simplification of the Tribe's own customary policies pertaining to their borders.

Another aspect of the appearance of the Macaw Tribes' borders that looked quite similar to that of a clock was a small interval that lied in between the six wedges that composed the borders of each of the Tribes, the interval itself bearing great resemblance to where the hands of a clock would be positioned. This area was for the most part, devoid of dense foliage, making it the ideal location for meetings to be held among officials belonging to the six Tribes if serious matters were to ever arise.

A typical event that would take place in the area would amount to the rendezvous of two or more Tribal officials, where they would converse. Their discussions in the past had usually pertained to territorial or regional disputes. On the rare occasion, officials from the Tribes had also used the interval as a proper setting to put treaties into effect, as well as to abrogate them. In several instances throughout the history of the Macaw Tribes, it had even been used as a formal setting for use in the declaration of a state of war between two or more Tribes, though war in itself had not occurred between any of the Tribes for roughly half a century.

Though the area bore no formal name or even any sort of consistently-used designation, it had received one common informal title, and it was one that was given to the interval by all of the Tribes - because of its purpose, as well as the fact that it had been agreed upon many decades prior that not a single Tribe could lay claim to it, the area was often referred to as the "Borderless Gathering." However, thrice had occurred incidents in which a Tribe had made an unsuccessful attempt to integrate the Borderless Gathering into its own territory, with two of these attempts having been on the part of the Scarlet Macaw Tribe, in the years 1930 and 1936, respectively.

Concerning the lands that lied far from the Tribes that were of utmost importance to them in the matters of maintaining both their political and commercial influence outside of their own borders, the human cities of Manaus and Manacapuru lied to the east of the Amazon Basin. The Basin itself largely ran to the north of the Spix's and Scarlet Macaw Tribes, albeit the occasional gap in the terrain that accommodated more of the Amazon's waters, allowing the River to meander beyond the Tribal territories.

Also pertaining to the Amazon River was that within its waters that lied to the north of the Tribes, a relatively small number of riverine islands also served as important territories held by both the Spix's and Scarlet Macaw Tribes, with some of these islands holding the status of condominiums, while others were controlled solely by one of the two Tribes. What lied to the south of the Tribes where the River gracefully traced the edges of the Scarlet and Red-and-green Macaw Tribes before turning southward was an area of dense rainforest which contained a massive ravine, featuring stupendous falls whose waters contributed to the Amazon Basin.

Both Tribes that stood close to the ravine and the waters that its falls provided had expressed great interest in the territory over the years, though neither had claimed it as of yet, due to past tensions that had resulted in infamous border skirmishes. Although disputes between the Scarlet and Red-and-green Macaw Tribes over the disputed southern territory had been all but completely resolved, new tensions between the former of the two Tribes and the Spix's Macaw Tribe had begun simmering, as a direct result of complicated political matters that had recently taken place within the Scarlet Macaw Tribe.

* * *

Almost as soon as the time reached about 8:30 AM, the scraping of talons against the bark of one of the jungle's many trees could be heard by the rainforest's numerous inhabitants. The source of the sound lied with a young male Spix's Macaw that had been recently dispatched on his very first border patrol. He now leaned against the trunk of a tree whilst his talons retained their grasp of the long and thin branch that stood beneath his feet, positioned some twenty or so feet from off the ground. In addition to this, his wings were raised vertically, resting against the trunk of the tree, similar to the rest of his body. Only the macaw's tail feathers could be identified as such from afar, which came to bend as they met the surface area of the branch that he was now using to maintain his position.

Bearing a rounded head and a pair of peculiar brown eyes that frequently flickered in anxiousness, the Spix's Macaw named Neto Pereira had very recently camouflaged himself from his head feathers to his talons in mud, all in accordance to the instructions that he had been provided by the patrol squadron officers, of whom were now holding their own positions nearby.

As the branch was positioned horizontally, relative to the collection of trees that stood off in the distance, (of which bore smears of red border markers along their trunks) observing the border had thus far proven to be a much simpler task than Neto had originally anticipated. Much of Neto's nervousness concerning the situation lied with the rather sudden series of tense diplomatic relations that had come to exist between his Tribe and the Tribe whose territory came to a halt only some thirty feet from his position. As of now, he bore little to no knowledge whatsoever concerning the tensions themselves, though he still went on to contemplate about them for another five peaceful (yet fruitless) minutes.

Immediately thereafter, Neto released a heavy sigh from his mud-caked beak in boredom, though his thoughts that expressed this emotion were interrupted within only a moment's notice. An assortment of leaves that stood on the forest floor (some five feet beyond the border) began to shake wildly, prompting Neto to immediately direct his undivided attention towards whomever was concealing themselves within the rainforest's lush foliage. Due to the extremely short distance between the position of the creature and the edge of the border, he could only assume that the former of the two was intent on trespassing, which was not taken lightly, especially by the Spix's Macaw Tribe.

His heart then accelerated rapidly as he began to feel an utmost sense of uncertainty and fear at the nature of the possible culprit, desperately praying that whomever it was did not bear red feathers. At the height of the moment that was shared between Neto and the unknown creature that was causing the disturbance, the former of the two refused to alter his position in any way, with only his eyeballs daring to move whatsoever.

Only seconds afterward, the young macaw finally caught sight of the suspect's appearance, though he was only able to visually discern what at first appeared to be a flash of red. Instantaneously coming to the conclusion that the unknown creature was a Scarlet Macaw due to the colors that it had briefly displayed, Neto used his wings and legs to make his way several feet up the trunk of the tree, before beginning to peer down at the forest floor in order to fully identify the trespasser.

A short time afterward, a dumbfounded look then came to appear on his muddy beak, as the culprit he was in search for revealed itself at last, quickly scurrying forward from its past position within the safety provided to it by the jungle's leaves; indeed, it was not at all a Scarlet Macaw, nor was it even another species of neotropical parrot. Rather, it was an entirely different class of bird that featured maroon-and-bright-orange plumage, a pair of stubby wings, large brown eyes, a crest of distinctive crimson feathers, and a small beak that was not particularly narrow nor wide in appearance. Adding that to the fact that the bird's overall bodily shape was one that was quite spherical in form, Neto sighed in relief as he identified the creature as a marbled wood quail.

As a sense of relaxation came to be bestowed upon Neto over the fact that the culprit he had sought had just been discovered to be incapable of causing any harm to the Tribe, the quail itself scampered across the forest floor, whilst it happily chirped to itself in a completely carefree manner. After that, the macaw positioned in the trees began the process of reverting his position to the branch that he had stood along not long before. Despite having come across no threats of any kind thus far, Neto could not help but swallow rather hard at every sudden noise that resulted from the tree that he was using to climb down.

Following the passing of another minute or so, he once again let out a sigh of relief at his successful transition between the two positions deemed ideal for the task of observation, his talons now obtaining a firm grip of the branch that stood below him. Immediately thereafter, Neto pressed his wings against the bark of the tree in a manner that resembled an embrace of sorts, as to conceal himself from view as effectively as possible. Now intent on searching for any suspicious activity on the part of the birds that inhabited the leafy treetops, (as Scarlet Macaws in particular had been recently reported to have used the canopy as an area to easily trespass the border) his eyes gradually rolled upwards within their sockets as he resumed his clandestine observations, though his keen eyes met nothing of note.

Eventually, the macaw elevated the position of his head relative to the rest of his body along the tree's bark, providing him with a much better view of the life that inhabited the canopy. Unfortunately, this also meant that because Neto now displayed not only his eyes, but also his beak and the entirety of his face to whomever occupied the canopy, any trespasser could very easily take notice of him. On the contrary however, the only thing that he came to be greeted by as his head assumed its tilted position were the beams of light that penetrated the canopy's shade, passing over his muddy face that had been effectively hidden under the shadows provided by that very same shade.

As there were no creatures to behold as of yet, Neto released his grasp of the branch once again, lifting his legs upward whilst his talons quickly sank into the bark of the tree. The young bird subsequently began climbing once again, before coming to a sudden halt upon reaching a height of sixty feet, relative to the branch that he had occupied shortly before.

Thus, he continued his surveillance from below the canopy, but could still catch not even a glimpse of any possible trespassing suspect. Feeling that he would have to hold true to his virtue of utmost patience even in this case, Neto then aimlessly swayed his visual focus from one end of the jungle to the other for minutes on end. However, this process rendered unto him only a further sense of impatience, as he had borne witness of nothing more than a gorgeous blue-winged butterfly, combined with a pair of rambunctious tamarins that had scurried across the branches some one-hundred feet yonder from his position.

Out of the mere boredom alone that he was receiving from performing this task, Neto finally decided to revert his attention to the forest floor, as there was simply no other area where he could continue to perform tactical observations for the time being. Upon this sudden decision on his part, he lightly pushed the bark as to allow himself to lean slightly backwards, though the transition was still rather difficult, due primarily to the difficulty in balancing himself along the trunk of the tree with the aid of nothing more than his talons. Following this accomplishment, Neto mustered all of the strength that he now held within both his talons and wings, then pressing the latter against the leftmost and rightmost sides of the tree that his wings could bear to reach.

After managing to grasp these opposite ends of the tree at least somewhat, he made good use of his feet by using them to thrust his entire body against the surface area of the tree, before meeting a great amount of pain in his left cheek upon impacting the tree itself. As a result, Neto was forced to straighten his tongue within his beak and lightly bite down upon its uppermost surface for a number of seconds, as to avoid producing a cry of pain; such a cry was something that could indeed prove fatal if trespassers were indeed lurking within the borders of his Tribe, after all. Quickly recovering, he found himself more than able to retain a firm position along the bark of the tree yet again, though it would not be until the passing of another two or so minutes when he was able to render himself completely silent once more.

Just as he had done before when he had observed the canopy, Neto's visual concentration of the area that he was observing constantly transitioned from left to right. To his great disappointment, another five odd minutes or so went by, and had been devoid of any creatures at all to be seen, other than the occasional flying insect or two. Overcome with tedium at the moment, thoughts concerning the immediate abandonment of his post began racing throughout his mind.

Fortunately, however, Neto soon thereafter discovered that he was no longer required to maintain his position, upon his ears catching the sound of wingbeats, all of which had pounded upon the air in tune to a distinctive rhythm that was used by the Tribe's patrol leaders, indicating that permission had been given for a rotation on the part of the birds that were now on patrol to be carried out.

Heaving yet another sigh of relief, the young macaw set his eyes upon the ground one last time before initiating his own departure from his position. Inhaling slowly, he leaned backward a second time whilst jamming his talons as deep into the bark as possible, all the while he kept his grip of the left and right sides of the tree for a short while longer, in the same manner that he had done only minutes prior. After Neto came to somewhat stabilize himself in this position, he immediately retracted his wings and began flapping them at a rapid pace. The macaw continued hovering in this uncomfortable position for a brief while until he proceeded to violently prise his talons backward, thus freeing himself from his very own attachment to the tree.

Instantaneously, Neto began hovering in a much more conventional fashion, now exerting much less force upon the surrounding air with his wings. Now oscillating these very same wings rather slowly, he found himself some five feet away from the position of the tree within a matter of seconds. Eventually, he came to bear the strength to suddenly lean forward within the air, whilst frantically flapping his wings upon doing so as to keep himself aloft. Following on this action by elevating his right wing and depressing his left wing, he was able to make a southward turn, allowing him to begin his flight back to the center of the Tribe.

Proceeding forward for some eight odd minutes within the dense jungle, he always maintained a level of caution within himself, occasionally swerving to either the left or right if either a tree or a cluster of vines happened to cross his path. Once or twice, he would find himself dodging protruding branches, and there were a number of other instances in which he had to perform a special aerial maneuver, as to avoid the numerous fruits that were hurled at him by the mischievous squirrel monkeys that inhabited the treetops, of whom often sojourned in the territories of one Macaw Tribe to the next.

Following the passing of those eight minutes, Neto decided to alter his course significantly, abruptly turning rightward in the direction of a small waterfall named the Cachoeira Propícia, contained within the outskirts of the Spix's Macaw Tribe's central region. After all, he was hardly the slightest bit recognizable to anyone but his patrol leaders at the moment, considering the sheer amount of mud that still encompassed his body. Once he had successfully completed his turn to the east, his flight course gradually became one that was quite linear for the most part.

Though the amount of foliage varied considerably over the course of the flight itself, both the species of foliage and the terrain that he encountered never strayed into heterogeneity. At long last, after Neto had flown for a further six-and-a-half minutes or so, he came to a halt and began hovering within the air after managing to catch sight of a sudden increase in dense vegetation that was positioned to his left, the foliage of which being scattered all over the ground. However, it did not seem to press against the trunks of the trees, indicating that the foliage to come would not be too dense for Neto to avoid.

Although the foliage was indeed not as thick as Neto remembered having seen when he had rendezvoused with his training officer at the waterfall some three months ago, he was certain that the area he was about to enter held the waterfall within its leafy boundaries. Carefully adjusting the position of his wings ever so slightly as he resumed flying, Neto promptly initiated the leftward turn that would serve as necessary for his own cleansing.

Upon turning leftward, the soft morning breeze suddenly came about; many of the taller trees' leaves proved to submit to the wind, as the whistling produced by the wind pressing against the leaves could be clearly heard even by Neto, a macaw that had only passed his standard patrol hearing test by a very small degree. Pressing onward for another brief moment, the macaw glanced at what little of the sky could be seen from below the obstructing canopy every now and again, as he found himself rather unsatisfied with simply engaging in a flight that was absent of observation.

Once that brief moment passed, he came to bear a rather flabbergasted look upon his beak after having reverted his visual and mental focus to the terrain, which had radically changed around him within such a brief period of time, despite the fact that the area remained unchanged from when he had last visited it.

Now hovering as his brown eyes scanned the entirety of the rather unorthodox environment that he had come to arrive within, he now focused upon any noticeable features of the jungle as to determine the best possible site where he could safely land. Unfortunately, the forest floor was all that he could view as meeting the singular condition that he had provided to himself, though he still visually absorbed all that stood before him, prior to even the mere thought of enacting his own landing coming to appear within his mind.

Though the ground showed little to no elevation itself, a pair of enormous boulders could be seen at a distance of around thirty feet, situated atop a forty-foot-high clay wall, of which was accompanied by another clay wall to its right that was perpendicular in form, relative to the position of the two large boulders. What lied beyond the clay walls to both their left and right were columns upon columns of trees that were too numerous to count, and too clustered to even imagine what stood behind them.

The fall itself ran in between the space that existed between the two boulders, its waters also coming into contact with the small clay wall as they plummeted towards an array of other boulders that stood directly below the fall. These waters then formed a small stream that stood before the boulders, which was where Neto intended to begin preening himself.

The stream in particular was certainly not one to behold, though the volume of water that comprised it, as well as its complexity concerning its overall form still rendered it a stream, nonetheless. It continued its advance for only another twenty feet or so before tilting backward by an enormous degree, with the only waters borne by the stream that passed beyond that sudden tilt running towards the rightward cluster of trees, albeit very slowly. Once it made its way to the trees, the small stream then entered and slithered its way out of the view of the macaw who now set his eyes upon it, whom simply did not bear the time to conduct any further observations of any subject matter. Even though he had been dismissed from his post far earlier than many of the other patrol birds, he hardly bore enough time as to even preen himself.

Yearning for a body that displayed the color of blue rather than that of brown, Neto at last began to proceed with his own cleansing by hastily swooping down to his desired landing position that lied at the edge of the stream. Instantaneously outstretching his set of sharp talons as they dug into the ground upon his landing, the inertia that he had bestowed upon himself made him advance slightly further along the ground than he had intended, which in turn meant that a very fearful look came to appear on the young macaw's beak. Fortunately, he was able to maintain his balance along the ground and did not at all lean in a forward direction by any more than a couple of inches, preventing him from accidentally exemplifying an aquatic landing.

Letting out a chortle of relief, Neto's posture then became one that was upright in nature, whilst the leaves that stood behind him rustled as his tail feathers lightly brushed against them. After that, the macaw bent over by several inches over the stream as to inspect its depth, murkiness, and the nature of any of the creatures that possibly inhabited its waters, as well as the speed at which any given current was now traveling at. To his surprise, he came to reckon that the stream's waters themselves were only deep enough to reach the midway point of his abdomen, rendering them shallow enough for a bird to step in without fear of possibly drowning, while they were also not shallow enough for bathing to be considered impractical.

The waters were also vivid enough for one to see the bed of the stream quite clearly and did not bear any sort of rapid current that could potentially pose a threat to the safety of Neto. As extensively as the macaw could observe, not a single fish that appeared dangerous swam about within the stream; as a matter of fact, only a single leporinus or two could be seen. Overall, the waters' conditions were nothing short of ideal for being used in the manner in which the patrol bird desired.

He then followed on his decision to use the stream to preen himself by slowly placing his right foot onto the surface. As his foot then broke the surface, the tepid waters now encompassing it produced a sensation of utter relaxation and satisfaction, all the while Neto constantly inspected his foot every few odd seconds, as to ensure that the water erased the mud from even the short spaces in his foot that lied in between his toes. After immediately repeating this process with his left foot, he used his right foot to continue wading, though this time around for the purpose of relaxation rather than cleansing.

Deciding not to do the same with his other foot as he did not bear all that much time on his wings, he then used this same foot to immediately lunge toward the water, thus entering it. Within a matter of seconds, the water rose up to the lower portion of his abdomen, making it slightly shallower than what Neto had initially predicted upon examining it. Still, as he made a number of steps forward, all of his tail feathers became submerged as they too entered the water. Unfortunately, as the waters immediately washed away much of the mud that the macaw had been covered in, they became quite murky, forcing Neto to wander toward the boulders at the base of the clay wall as to avoid having his body accumulate the very same mud that he desired to rid himself of.

At every splash or so that was created by the movement of the macaw's wings whilst he continued treading through the water, he would make good use of them by scooping up the water that stood around him, before subsequently allowing it to descend upon himself once his wings came to rise past his flattened head feathers. Instantaneously, Neto would shut his eyes as to deter any mud that came to pass down his face, occasionally even submerging his head in the water for several seconds whenever he doubted that it had been cleansed thoroughly-enough. As the water now produced a cooling sensation whilst it seeped into his plumage, the true colors borne by his feathers were finally no longer concealed from view at all.

Indeed, like the majority of the male inhabitants of the Tribe, he bore vibrant cerulean plumage with small hints of turquoise here and there, though his plumage was certainly not as light as that borne by most of the females when discerning the nature of the feathers' overall hue. The colors of his beak were now also revealed, which consisted of primarily a lighter shade of gray, as could be expected from most Spix's Macaws that belonged to the Tribe. Still, the fact that he had hardly surpassed the moment of his life when he had become an adult was quite apparent, as a crisp stripe that was white in color ran down the surface of his beak. It was a feature that was borne by nearly all youthful Spix's Macaws, provided that they did not belong to exceptional families that featured different genetic traits from the rest of the Tribe.

Oddly enough, most macaws in the Tribe came to lose most of what had composed the white stripes along the surfaces of their beaks by the time that they reached the adult age of seven years, though Neto's beak still retained the entirety of the stripe for reasons that were largely unclear. As a matter of fact, the mere prevalence of the white stripe along his beak had at times led to trouble, especially concerning that which had surrounded the process by which he had enlisted in what was formally known as the Spix's Macaw Army about three months prior.

However, the Army was hardly a unified army at all, and was more a less an assortment of warrior, sentry, border patrol, clandestine, and observation contingents. Because of the decline that had befallen the Spix's Macaws' legions not so long ago, many members of the Tribe hesitated to even refer to it as a proper army at all. Instead, they referred to it as the _Defalho_ , a portmanteau of the Portuguese words that went by the names of "defesa" and "galho," which when combined, translated to "twig defense," denoting the Army's perceived weakness.

After the young macaw's body had finally reverted to its original color, he turned his head towards his right wing and then his left soon afterward, proceeding to use his beak as a tool to not only assist in the preening that he was now bestowing upon himself when pertaining to the feathers of his that required more attentive cleansing, but also to help repair any feathers of his that happened to have been damaged.

Small amounts of mud subsequently disappeared from his wings, and fortunately, his keen eye sight had been able to discern only a few feathers that were either ruffled or in need of repair. The few feathers that had held this status only moments prior were now all up to standard for use when in flight.

Eventually, Neto felt that it would be better for him to hasten his return to the center of the Tribal territory than to not do so, and with that, he turned towards the edge of the stream, his focus being directed towards the same collection of vegetation that he had entered the stream from in particular. Then beginning to tread through the water yet again, he promptly froze as he came to remind himself that the waters that lied before him now bore the mud that had once covered him.

As a result, he turned in the opposite direction, making his way to the rightward side of the stream until he reached its edge within a short while. Upon accomplishing this, he flapped his wings whilst still holding his place within the water, as to rid his feathers of the water droplets that would prove detrimental to the flight he was about to resume. After that, he flapped his wings again, only this time he actually became airborne within only a moment's notice. However, he landed upon the ground that stood only inches apart from him just seconds following the continuation of his flight. He then pondered on for a further minute, with the subject within his mind regarding the exact wording that he planned to eventually use in his report regarding his uneventful patrol.

Finally, Neto redirected his attention towards the sky and finally took off from the ground, immediately assuming a horizontal streamlined position once his feet parted with the ground beneath him. Now finally in flight, the young macaw soon afterward returned to the flight course that led into the central area of the Tribe, with the intent of providing his report to the ruling Patriarch of the Spix's Macaw Tribe, César III.

As the nineteenth Patriarch of the Tribe who belonged to the reigning Torres Family, (which had been reigning continuously since the founding of the Tribe in 1534 by Jacinto I) he had garnered himself a rather controversial reputation among even some of the most loyal members of the Tribe, due to his bombastic and occasionally mean-spirited nature. As well as that, many of the leaders of the Tribe's Army had resigned during the past years of his incumbency, due to his prioritization of substantially increasing commercial trade with other Tribes, rather than maintaining a strong fighting force.

Because of César's overall tendency to bear within himself a short temper that could be actuated quite easily if given the right time of day and conditions that effected his attitude in one way or another, Neto was not keen at all on providing his report personally, though he nevertheless attempted to remain optimistic about the situation that he could possibly find himself in.

Following the passing of another twenty-two long minutes composed of nothing but persistent flight, the flight course itself that Neto had chosen to follow had been little more than linear for the most part, with only the occasional swerve or dive to deviate from the flight course's rather monotonous nature. Shortly afterward however, the macaw spotted what appeared to be an entire column of trees rather than a small grouping of trees that were scattered about along the forest floor, indicating that he had indeed reached the center of the Tribe.

The foliage surrounding the trees had also become significantly lighter, and what lied above the canopy was now quite visible. Also notable was that the pathway of trees then became progressively wider as every row of five odd trees was passed, before Neto managed to reach another portion of the Tribe's territory that was much more open. Here, the locations of the trees were largely diverted to the far-right and far-left of the pathway. The pathway on its own was covered in slightly thicker foliage than that borne by the tree columns that Neto had already passed, though this noticeable density of the rainforest's foliage was not held for long.

It seemed that nearly every tree that populated this part of the jungle bore within it at least one hollow, though a number of taller trees held two or more residences as a measure of accommodating the Tribe's large population in an efficient manner. Almost immediately after making his way into this particular area, countless Spix's Macaws of every variety came into view.

Most of whom were flying in either circular or vertical runs, searching for desired fruits that the trees possessed in order to provide breakfast to both themselves and their families. Unfortunately, this also meant that Neto could hardly hear anything apart from the chattering and conversing that the hundreds of macaws were engaging in at the moment. Because of this, the bird would have to stay vigilant in order to avoid any accidental collisions he could potentially make with another bird, as well as to rely on his eyesight alone in order to do so, as his hearing was effectively rendered useless in a situation such as this.

As Neto kept pressing onward, he eventually came to pass by an enormous, yet shallow pit that was approximately two-hundred feet in diameter, forming what almost appeared to be a mouth that even bore lips, as sloped stones traced the circumference of the mouth from within the pit. Hardened dirt composed the pit's floor, and atop it stood a ring of one-hundred large stones that served as seats, as well as a tall stone perch that was placed in the center, with every seat in the mouth facing the perch.

It was called the Great Mouth, (its title owing to its appearance) and was used for important Tribal gatherings, announcements, funerals eulogies, and for remembering dead Patriarchs and Matriarchs. In addition to this, it also held customary dances on the rare occasion, especially those that took place during a wedding, or as was often formally called, a "mate bonding ceremony."

Finally, once Neto surpassed the Great Mouth that had stood directly below him, the pathway evolved into a sort of valley, with the presence of more trees becoming abundantly clear within a very short period of time, as the canopy once again came to pass over the young macaw in flight. Two minutes afterward, the foliage became far denser, though the density of the population of Spix's Macaws hardly decreased whatsoever.

Because of this, the area that Neto had just recently crossed into was indeed much more hazardous than the sparsely-populated rainforest that lied thirty minutes behind him, as he was now forced into constantly performing complicated flight maneuvers in order to avoid making contact with not only trees and vines, but also approaching Spix's Macaws as well. As he had predicted right from the very outset of his entrance into the area, the time that he received in order to allow a passage over and under his fellow macaws amounted to very little. Several times within only mere seconds, he nearly collided with the macaws that were flying among him, including a young female and two middle-aged males.

Utterly exhausted as of now, Neto's eyes went on to meet a relatively small branch that extended outward from a medium-sized tree that lied to his right. He knew that the resident of the hollow would permit him to land upon the branch that stood outside, as that resident happened to be a close friend of his, named Couto. The macaw then used the remainder of his strength to turn towards the branch whilst still in flight.

Once he finally came to land upon the branch, he could only look down at his feet and pant for a short while. It was not long afterward when he began inhaling and exhaling quite audibly in his attempt to recover hastily, then returning to an upright stance before visually inspecting the inside of the hollow – Couto appeared to be absent from his home for one reason or another, leaving Neto somewhat disappointed due to the lack of any other friends that were flying about within his vicinity.

He promptly tucked his wings within the sides of his body, relaxing for some two further minutes along the branch. Although he went on to regain enough strength to be able to hover for several moments continuously, he was still nothing short of weary. After all, he had never carried out a single patrol before, and a macaw's very first patrol was typically an unpleasant experience all around.

Neto then shuffled his way to almost the very end of the branch whilst also turning towards the sea of macaws that were surpassing his position from both the east and west. Hoping that his eyes could land upon even a single familiar face, his thorough search bore fruitless results, even after his eyes constantly scanned the rainforest for a full three minutes. After deciding that he would rest for a short while longer, his body proceeded to droop ever so slightly over the edge of the branch, whilst also craning his neck backward and providing a glance at the tree ever so often in an attempt to possibly find an individual flying overhead that he felt the need to speak to.

These occasional glances yielded no results as well, bringing Neto a sense of further disappointment. He then continued to rest for a brief time along the branch, whilst also starting to inhale and exhale at a slower pace than before, all the while his visual focus came to be redirected to his feet and the surface of the branch that he was now perched along. About a minute later, he felt that it was worth his time to once again peer out into the crowds of macaws that were making their way past his position.

With that, his eyes then started to sway from side to side in his second attempt to find anyone of any interest to him, and for the first minute or so, he became increasingly agitated as the absence of those he wished to speak to persisted. However, once that minute eventually passed, a recognizable flash of blue that Neto could clearly discern from a distance of one-hundred feet suddenly came into view, bestowing a sense of utmost relief upon the exhausted patrol bird.

The male Spix's Macaw that had caught Neto's attention, now gliding from branch to branch (for the purpose of leisure) at a continuous rate could be described as being very tall in stature and quite thin, though his wings were slightly larger than those borne by the majority of the Spix's Macaw Tribe. The color of his plumage was rather unusual for a male of his species to possess, with the majority of his feathers that covered his head, abdomen, legs, and the undersides of his wings all bearing a magnificent turquoise hue that could easily strike any given individual with a sense of awe.

In contrast, his back, tail feathers, and the uppermost portions of his wings bore a darker hue, though the hue itself was still lighter in color than what most male Spix's Macaws within the Tribe exhibited. Along with that, a large array of soft downy feathers encircled his neck; most of these downy feathers' ends joined with the ends of the larger feathers that ran below his neck, though others stuck slightly outward.

Other notable features pertaining to the appearance of the macaw were his eyes and the shape of his beak; the former were emerald-green in color, while the latter was gray, also bearing a distinctive curvature shape that could really only be described as being similar in appearance to the menacing and extremely powerful beaks possessed by the Hyacinth Macaws.

Indeed, the Hyacinths were a distant species that now bore very little of a presence within the Amazon, though the Spix's Macaws had never forgotten them; over three-and-a-half centuries ago, the two vastly different species had once acted as components within the mostly Hyacinth-ruled Blue Macaw Tribe, a Tribal union that had also consisted of the Lear's and Glaucous Macaws. To say the least, the ancient Blue Macaw Tribe had gone on to disintegrate due to an eruption of strife and chaos amongst the whole of the union, as its one and only Patriarch had written no laws during his lifetime that would have indicated who was to have succeeded him in his position of power.

Fortunately for Neto, the radius of the other macaw's gliding was very tight, allowing him to maintain his focus upon the macaw in question. Then squinting in order to obtain a slightly better view of the bird, Neto came to recognize him as Alberto Guava; he was a close friend to not only Neto but also many other macaws and had been serving as the Tribe's premier messenger for about three years as well. Despite his rather long tenure in the position that he now held, Alberto was only little more than a year older than Neto and had in addition, also been bearing of enough luck to find a love interest some few months prior.

César considered Alberto "the bird" when concerning the delivery of messages over long distances and long periods of time; virtually everyone who served as an associate of either the incumbent Patriarch or Alberto was aware of this, and many who bore the assigned duty of delivering messages often used the latter of the two birds to their advantage in this regard.

Because of this, combined with the fact that Neto was in no way whatsoever energetic as of now, the only thoughts that appeared within the bird's mind were those that viewed the surrounding moment as one of opportunity. Only by resting and passing on his report to someone else Neto thought could he alleviate the weariness that his flight had bestowed upon the same bird who had carried it out. A short while later, the younger of the two macaws raised both of his wings and cupped them around his beak, ensuring that Alberto would take notice of him upon calling out his name.

As he shouted his greeting from off in the distance, he spoke in what was known in the Tribe as the Outer Accent, predominately spoken by the lower classes of society that lived apart from the heart of the Tribe, as well as the jungle that lied approximately a mile before it. The accent itself was characterized by its extensive usage of long vowels, in addition to its general informality.

" _Alberto! Alberto! It's me, Neto! Ya know, Neto Pereira? I'm over here!_ " Following his call, it then took several seconds for it to not only reach Alberto's eardrums, but also as to register within his mind that a fellow macaw was requesting his presence within his vicinity.

Once the latter of the two was accomplished on Alberto's part, he immediately turned his head in Neto's general direction whilst still gliding. However, he ceased his gliding only a brief time afterward as he came to an abrupt halt within the air, then assuming a vertical position as he now began hovering. He was initially quite irritated at the fact that his gliding session had been interrupted, though his position within the air nevertheless transitioned from being vertical to horizontal in nature as he began making his way towards Neto.

Constantly avoiding incoming Spix's Macaws from every direction imaginable in a similar fashion as to how Neto had come to arrive at the branch only minutes earlier, a span of thirty odd seconds came to pass once Alberto finally reached that very same branch. He marked his arrival by outstretching his talons and then grasping the branch tightly, then turning towards Neto once he had fully stabilized himself along his new perch.

After that, Alberto began speaking in reply to Neto's call at last. In stark contrast to Neto however, Alberto spoke in the Inner Accent, which was considered the essential opposite of the Outer Accent in most regards and was easily recognized by its general formality, combined with its prevalent usage of short vowels as opposed to long vowels. It was used primarily by the upper classes of the Spix's Macaw Tribe within the circles of trees that stood around the Patriarch's very own tree and the Great Mouth, as well as the land that lied to the immediate north of the former location.

"It is quite lovely to see you, is it not?" Alberto asked cheerfully. Upon receiving no reply from Neto apart from a series of breathing and panting sounds that were made on his part, Alberto sighed, then transitioning the subject to whatever matter that Neto had summoned him for. "I must now ask: what is that you may want? Is it anything of note at all? Or did you simply want to be cordial with me?"

"Eh, not really… Or at least, not on that last part," Neto then answered. "Well, I guess the reason I need you right now is because I just completed my first real patrol. I'll be honest, I'm way too tired right now to even bother delivering my report to César or anybody else with a leader-ish kind of vibe. I guess I'm just worn out from the stress of being on the border with a hostile Tribe, not so much the two half-hour flights I went on to there and back. Anyway, I was hoping you'd give my observation report to the Patriarch."

"Very well then. I hope that you are not so weary as to be unable to provide me your report with haste – after all, I myself have to stand before César within only a few minutes. Moving on, proceed!"

"Let's see… I camouflaged myself in the mud like we're supposed to, I got to the border and climbed up and down a tree a couple times, and I looked for Scarlets. After seeing a red flash, I just knew it had to be a Scarlet, but it turned out to only be a quail. After that, I looked for suspicious activity a bit more before kinda doing my own thing. I just went off to one of the waterfalls and got myself clean. Then, I came back here, and I'm standing on this branch right now."

"You mistook a quail for a Scarlet Macaw? Interesting. It must have been sufficiently concealed within the surrounding vegetation as for its identity to not be clear to you. Now, I assume that as you did not mention anyone else within your report, you were alone during the entirety of this operation, correct?"

"Yeah, I was. I'll admit, not the best idea, especially when you're on the border. Either there were no Scarlets at all, or their camouflage is genius."

"Indeed, it was not a sound idea," Alberto chuckled, then concluding the discussion about the topic. "With that, I think that you have provided me a sufficient amount of detail for me to deliver your report to the Patriarch." Afterward, he began to turn away from Neto in order to carry out his flight to the enormous tree that belonged to César and the rest of the Torres Family, lying some ten minutes to the north of the position that he now held. However, Neto spoke once more to Alberto before he could extend his wings to begin flying.

"Hey, um, why does the Patriarch need you at nine-twenty in the morning anyway?"

"Oh, my utmost apologies!" Alberto began. "It is one of the many reports on the progression of _Operation: Lend a Wing_ , concerning a coordinated effort that I was assigned to organize by César. This effort on my part is also one of extreme importance, no less. If I were to disappoint the Patriarch when pertaining to this assignment, he would almost certainly curse my very name."

" _Operation: Lend a Wing_? Never heard of it. Guess it's one of those things that only the best we've got have anything to do with."

"You are quite right about that. To begin, it is quite a complicated matter, though I will nevertheless explain the nature of our operation. Only slightly over a month ago, the inner circle of the Scarlet Macaw Tribe's leadership became rife with illicit practices, which in turn led to instability of the absolute worst variety. Eventually, Patriarch José was usurped by his brother, Caetano Vermelho. Nearly their entire council of advisers was purged as well to make matters far worse than they already were. Because Caetano wasted no time at all to begin carrying out horrific acts against his subjects, we shortly thereafter established secret negotiations with loyalists within that Tribe, agreeing to provide food to them as they are being starved by Caetano's corrupt, illegitimate council."

"Sounds like a pretty good deal. The loyalists will probably find their way somehow. But, why is this a huge problem to us if we've got the situation better?"

"Continuing on with that, I was one of the officers within the detachment of macaws that bypasses the Scarlet's borders and deliver the food. It was an extremely dangerous task without any assertion of a doubt, though we managed to maintain the operation's original course for a relatively long while – that was until one of our newer cadets accidentally provided information of the operation to one of Caetano's hundreds of informants that are settled all throughout the Amazon. Consequently, the illegitimate Patriarch has become aware of our operation. To our utmost surprise, he has never even attempted to rid the Scarlet Macaw Tribe of our presence. Rather, he announced it publicly to the entire Tribe's populous, as to manipulate his subjects into believing that any future famines are our fault exclusively."

"Hmm... Well, you've got to admit, that pretty much confirms that Caetano isn't some kind of crazy idiot; he's not good, sure, but he's smart."

"Indeed – unfortunately, he is our primary concern at the moment when regarding all of our diplomatic relations. It would surely be quite a pity if the loyalists starved – I risked my own feathers to support their cause, after all. The Tribe did in fact possess hunting companies that are supposed to have the likes of us eliminated, of course until Caetano dissolved them in order to guarantee the success of his very own strategy that was voted upon by his council. Another serious issue at hand that our own Tribal Council has faced is the question as to who should rule the Scarlet Macaw Tribe if Caetano is perhaps overthrown, provided that he either exiled or massacred the rest of the Vermelho Family. Concerning them, only the son of José is known for a fact to still be alive. Apart from that, I must make haste."

"Alright, good luck then. See ya later, Alberto! _Obrigado!_ "

"Farewell to you, Neto!" Alberto finished the conversation at last, before finally resuming his preparations for flight. Thenceforth, he turned towards the passing crowds of macaws and spread out his wings before proceeding to leap forward, promptly taking flight as soon as his talons came to grip the branch for no longer. Neto's eyes then trained on the messenger for a brief while, until Alberto finally left his view some twenty seconds afterward.

Now that the majority of those that composed the crowds lied far behind him, Alberto began to adjust his altitude ever so slightly as to avoid any incoming natural obstacles that could be seen. The few sizable flocks of birds that surpassed him from either behind him or ahead of him were easily avoided this time around, as Alberto would ascend over the other birds' heads and then dive back down after he had passed over the entire flock.

Some five minutes after that, a sparsely-populated area of particularly dense foliage came into his view, which was known to serve as the barrier between the general population and the magnificent tree that belonged to the Torres Family. With that, Alberto rarely did anything more than simply adjust his altitude far more frequently than he had done before, albeit the occasional dive or two that he had to perform in order to avoid any vines that stood in his path.

Shortly thereafter, the surrounding jungle became much less dense and the sunlight far more prevalent, eventually leading into a largely open ring within the rainforest that bore few trees, called the Green Eye (with this name having been given by the famous Scarlet Matriarch Júlia II whilst she had been on a diplomatic visit to the area in 1940.) Only one of the trees within the Green Eye was now inhabited by Spix's Macaws, and that tree was indeed the aptly-named Tree of Torres, more often referred to by both the upper and lower classes as the "Torres Tree."

Ever since the very formation of the Tribe that had taken place centuries ago, the ancient tree had held the unique status of acting as the principle residence for the Tribe's Patriarchs and Matriarchs, as well as their offspring and occasionally their siblings. There had never existed a time in which the incumbent Tribal leaders' parents had lived with them, as according to customary law in the Spix's Macaw Tribe, a Patriarch could never abdicate.

Their death alone could mark the transition of authority to whichever of their offspring was deemed the most capable to succeed them. A Matriarch could only abdicate provided that their mate had died and that they had already borne children that were then of age to rule. In addition, if these two conditions were met, the widowed Matriarch would then have to seek refuge within one of the other trees that lied inside of the Green Eye, thus living apart from the incumbent leader of the Tribe.

The Torres Tree itself was not only among the tallest that the entire Tribe offered – as a matter of fact, it was also one of the widest by diameter, as well as one of the longest when discerning the overall length on top of that. As with every inhabited tree that the Macaw Tribes featured regardless of the owner's status in society, it bore a large hollow entrance that bore a shape that was reminiscent of that of an oval.

This one in particular stood some forty feet below the tree's uppermost branches where its leaves amassed. Standing before the entrance to the hollow was a large, broad branch that was mostly linear in form apart from the end that stood opposite to the one that connected to the hollow entrance, being largely crooked in form. Several other branches of various lengths and diameters stood beside it, with the lengths of the gaps that each branch held relative to the position of the hollow entrance's branch also varying considerably. The tree's roots outstretched from the base of the trunk to several feet in front of it, these roots all resembling the appearance of lightning bolts due to their noticeably jagged form.

As Alberto continued his gradual approach towards the Torres Tree, the sound being produced by his wings constantly elevating and depressing as they pounded upon the air continuously did not at all go unnoticed by the most powerful macaw that resided in the entire Tribe, now standing inside the tree's spacious hollow – indeed it was César, the one and only ruling Patriarch. He was nearly forty years of age for the time being and had been ruling the Tribe for almost thirteen years, ever since the passing of his father had come in 1978. In spite of his age, his appearance still fared rather well. As with many Spix's Macaws in the Tribe, he bore cerulean plumage that was composed of silky and lustrous feathers, most of which taking a linear form that was quite typical in the Tribe.

These very same feathers tended to puff out somewhat, particularly those that ran vertically across both his abdomen and chest. As well as that, a cluster of five small head feathers were located at the back of head, with all of them pointing downward, enabling the lowermost of the fathers to partially rise above those that ran down the back of his neck.

Arguably the most menacing trait that César's appearance displayed was his large beak; the surface of its upper portion took the form of a downward slope, and a very steep one at that, almost bearing somewhat of a resemblance to the blade of a scythe. Another physical feature that was one of notability (though not one which was threatening) were his eyes, whose color could only be described as a rather odd shade of blue that possessed a minor tint of gray. Many birds within the Tribe held the spiritual belief that Selva himself (the central deity of the neotropical parrots' ancient religion) had bestowed upon their Patriarch a set of eyes that reflected the colors of the moonlight (under which he had hatched many years ago.)

As for the Patriarch himself, he had only awoken approximately half an hour prior, retaining some of the somnolence that had greeted him as he had arisen from his bed not long before. To say the least, he did not desire to speak to Alberto at all at such an hour, though a meeting in the Great Mouth would soon follow Alberto's report, regarding the situation surrounding the diplomatic crisis that was taking place within the Scarlet Macaw Tribe. As a result, he was left not a choice but to receive word from his most capable messenger during the time of day when he would be most sullen if any amount of stress was projected upon him.

César's gleaming eyes remained fixed upon Alberto as he was now in an aerial position that stood some thirty feet ahead of the hollow entrance. As the latter of the two birds grew ever closer to the Torres Tree, the former proceeded forward from inside the hollow, eventually reaching the lip of the entrance and stepping over it. Once this action had been done, the Patriarch stood upright as he took another step forward, now just hardly a foot outside of his regal hollow. He coughed as he awaited Alberto's landing, bearing in mind the advice that his mate had provided him not long before when he had first awoken, dictating that for the sake of holding his temper, he would exhibit as much additional patience as he could see feasible for himself.

As the bird approaching César was Alberto, the Patriarch chuckled to himself at the mere thought of losing his temper towards him. After all, he always seemed to hold much more patience with him than any other member of the Tribe that did not include his mate and his son and daughter, largely because he had practically raised Alberto as an adopted son for the duration of his adolescence, as well as for most of his childhood. The ruling Patriarch could not even bear to hold any thoughts that even did so much as to suggest any feelings of anger on his part to Alberto; he could not imagine ever becoming angry with the macaw who had sought him desperately, following the killing of his mother by a jaguar many ages past.

Finally, Alberto came to land upon the branch that César was stoutly perched along, his aerial position immediately transitioning to one that was vertical in nature as he locked his talons around the branch itself. Upon landing, Alberto made a number of steps towards who he saw as his adopted father, suddenly receiving a rather sullen look from César not long afterward. At this, Alberto could not help but display an expression of anxiety and nervousness, though he kept advancing towards his Patriarch nonetheless, all the while that very same Patriarch's look did not seem to change. Alberto could only assume for the time being that César was now prone to unleashing his temper if he dared upset him, an event that held its place among those that both birds desired least. Afterward, the Patriarch then began speaking to Alberto.

"I am afraid that you have forgotten to bow before me," he stated morosely in his Inner Accent. The expression on Alberto's beak then conveyed utmost confusion on his part, as César had never before mentioned to any of his subjects that the act of bowing to him was mandated. As Alberto then began to bow in compliance by focusing his eyes towards the branch and leaning forward, the Patriarch abruptly halted the bow by verbal means, now laughing merrily as he spoke. "You need not bow. It now seems that I have once again proven that you are quite susceptible to practical jokes."

Alberto then redirected his attention towards César and laughed along with him, whilst also bearing a sheepish grin on his beak that the Patriarch found quite amusing, leading the laughter of the two birds to last for quite some time. Afterward, the birds' amusement came to a sudden halt. César then felt rather guilty for even daring to waste his precious time as the rest of the day would run on a very constrained schedule, though he began speaking to Alberto yet again, only this time, he spoke of the primary reason that he had summoned his presence. "Your report, Alberto?"

"My men are scheduled to arrive within only a minute or so," Alberto then answered. "Though two of them could unfortunately not embark on this operation; a dreadful illness has beset Nora, and I was left no choice but to grant Trindade a period of leave as his cousin was recently injured in an accident."

"And the others?"

"As I said, they should be here soon. Unfortunately, they could not make their return until three days after the initial day that it was scheduled to take place. The only reason I am aware of my detachment's return is because of word I received from a nomad parakeet regarding the subject. I do not yet know any details concerning the goods that the detachment managed to gather, and I cannot disclose them as a result."

"Pity," César remarked. "Are there any other events that have come about today that relate to you?"

"Not necessarily. Rather, I just recently collected a patrol report from a good friend of mine."

"And who may that be? Costa?" César chortled, referring to Alberto's love interest. "Did you decide to advance your romantic relationship with her by providing her reports to me?"

"No, not at all. He is Neto Pereira, an individual that is not exactly one that I would call steadfast, but is someone worth speaking to, regardless. In short, he ventured out to the central border with the Scarlet Macaws and camouflaged himself as he began to search for any suspicious activity. The only thing of note that he found was a wood quail, and afterward, he preened himself and returned. Apart from that, we have a number of new recruits in our merchant escorting detachments that are to soon make their way to Manacapuru. The only one whose name I can recall is Luna, who found great difficulty in following my instruction. Everyone else seems suitable for the duties that the detachment is to carry out. That is all that I have to speak of."

"Good. It is about time that we establish some form of escorting force for our merchants – after all, the Scarlets may attempt to harass them in the near future. Let us hope that the goods that your men have gathered are sufficient enough to deter what I fear Caetano may try to initialize."

"In – my apologies – indeed," Alberto somewhat stuttered nervously. Abruptly, though expectedly, a series of wingbeats came to be heard from off in the distance, belonging to a group of six macaws that were now positioned some forty feet to the north of the Torres Tree. César promptly squinted at the two quartets of birds flying alongside one another, with each quartet carrying the left and right sides respectively of what appeared to be a large collection of leaves and branches tied together with vines, forming what was effectively a large basket.

As a cover of larger leaves existed over the basket, (as a rather ineffective method as to protect the goods inside from the jungle's abundant rainfall) the two birds standing along the branch were still eagerly anticipating the moment when the basket's contents were revealed. The six birds had carried their large and cumbersome merchant basket with them all the way to Manaus via the means of travelling aboard a human ferry, with the journey having lasted five days.

As the capital of Amazonas had gained the reputation among both humans and birds as a major commercial trade center, the two macaws could only imagine what sort of fortune that would be bestowed upon the Tribe's diplomatic situation if the goods in question managed to be delivered to the loyalists within the Scarlet Macaw Tribe. All six of the young adult macaws that bore the promising merchant basket (named Verde, Ornelas, Muniz, Gularte, Marianão, and Rostagno) did not take long at all to begin panting quite noticeably.

Worryingly, this started occurring at a time when twenty feet of air still lied between them and the branch that both their commander and their Patriarch stood along, still waiting excitedly for the delivery of the goods that they were convinced would ease diplomatic tensions.

The two birds standing along the branch then displayed concerned looks on their beaks as only a second later, they noticed that the six birds' wings were shaking sporadically. Alberto's heart rate then increased exponentially at the mere sight of this, extending his right wing into the air in utter dismay. The look on César's beak also turned to one of desperation, praying that the six macaws would simply increase their flight speed and make a crash landing inside his hollow.

His prayers went unanswered however, as when they came to hover at a position of only ten feet ahead of the branch, the two quartets of birds could simply bear to carry the merchant basket no more, the branches holding it together slipping through all of their talons. Alberto almost fainted at the sight of the basket plummeting towards the ground, and César could not help but release a trio of furious curses from his beak, all directed towards the six birds that had released their grip of the basket.

As the basket itself made impact with a large sloped rock that sat upon the forest floor, both the Patriarch and Alberto could only expect for it to break apart, releasing all of its contents that had been crushed by the mere force of the impact alone. Indeed, much of the leftward portion of the basket became severed from the central and rightward portions, and the cover of leaves that had sat atop the opening disappeared into the vast vegetation that lied amongst it. However, once the remains of the basket slipped down the surface area of the rock and reached the forest floor, not a single crushed fruit, vegetable, or even any other object that could be considered merchandise could be seen from above and at any angle – it appeared that the basket's supposedly valuable contents had been comprised of nothing.

Both César and Alberto were nothing short of dumbfounded at the sight of this, their beaks wide open and their eyes fixed upon the empty basket's remains that lied along the forest floor. The six macaws all hung their heads in shame, and Alberto could only shiver at what he could guarantee that the Patriarch would say to him if he dared turn in his direction. Out of nothing more than sheer respect for César, he did however muster the will to turn around along the branch, making direct eye contact with him.

" _DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?!_ " César then bellowed, his face almost bearing a tint of crimson as to how much anger had consumed him. Despite anticipating for the Patriarch to have directed a great amount of anger towards him, Alberto was still rendered nothing less than aghast. His leader then proceeded to pace up and down the length of the branch with his wings clenched into fists, swearing at an almost-constant rate at him. Fortunately, it was only a short time later when Verde (Alberto's deputy) made the risky decision of intervening in César's fit of what seemed like utter madness, subsequently pleading in his Outer Accent that he receive the blame for the absence of goods and not Alberto.

"My Patriarch! My Patriarch! It's _my_ fault! I looked all over the place in Manaus for the fruits, and the humans purchased everything!"

" _YOU ARE NOT THE COMMANDER THAT PLOTTED THE COURSE!_ " César screeched in retaliation, then holding his position along the branch as he came to face Alberto once again. Upon doing so, he made a decision that he would never have ever thought of carrying out – he suddenly elevated his right wing and landed a swift punch to the left side of Alberto's feathered face, and with enough force to almost send him down to the forest floor. As a cry of agony came to be released from his most talented messenger, César instantaneously pulled back his wing, still clenched into a fist.

He stared at not only a trembling, desperate Alberto that pressed his left wing against his face, but also every individual detail regarding the fist his clenched wing had formed in terror. At this, he felt a sense of not only remorse, but further anger as well. On one wing, the Patriarch absolutely regretted the act of striking his adopted son, though on the other, he still viewed Alberto as being entirely at fault for the potentially catastrophic failure that had occurred in his attempt to quell the threats posed by the illegitimate Patriarch Caetano. As a result, he saw Alberto as being deserving of a punishment such as the one that he had proceeded with.

However, he could not help but repent this action on his part at least somewhat, due to not only the ominous glares that were provided to him by the macaws that Alberto commanded, but also because of the middle-aged female voice that abruptly squawked in an irritated fashion from behind him – the voice belonged to his beloved mate and the incumbent Matriarch of the Tribe, named Eduarda.

"What on earth is taking place out here?! Is this some sort of brawl that both I and the Council urged you not to take part in?!" César then froze in his position along the branch for a short time, before turning back towards the hollow entrance and staring into the eyes of his mate.

Eduarda, like the Patriarch, fared quite well concerning her appearance when considering her age. Her feathers were similar in color to those of her mate, though they were noticeably brighter in hue, albeit the vertically-aligned array of small feathers that ran down the back of her head. Her tail feathers rose several inches from off the ground, forming the shape of a slope, a similar shape that her light-gray also happened to possess. Her last notable visual feature was the pair of curious sea-green eyes that she bore, though the form that the rest of her feathers took were for all intents and purposes the same as those borne by her mate.

"Unfortunately, no, this is not a brawl, nor would anyone call it one!" César began his defense of his actions. "Alberto failed to direct his men towards a fruit market that was known to host little human activity, and with that, the majority of the Scarlet loyalists will now accept their leader and believe the utter lies that he has bestowed upon his subjects! I simply punished him for failing to deter the poisons that lie with Caetano's influence! A war could occur!"

"Well then, if you are going to provide me a lecture surrounding your foreign affairs, place the blame on the humans that bought the fruit. I never recall you ever instructing Alberto to conduct reconnaissance in Manaus to determine what markets would be suitable to acquire fruit from."

"It is a matter of common sense that I expect, not something that I am to order –" the Patriarch began.

"In all honesty, I do not want to hear your excuses for failing to provide sufficient instruction," Eduarda interrupted.

"Alright, as you wish," César uttered reluctantly. Afterward, he turned back around and was greeted by the sudden absence of the six basket-bearers. Alberto, however, was still trembling along the branch, utterly horrified at his leader's mere presence. Guilt suddenly struck the Patriarch, though not enough to bring him to accompany Alberto. Rather, feeling that he needed to immediately carry out his other necessary duties, César blinked rapidly in order to deliberately lose his focus over the sight of Alberto, before turning back around towards the hollow entrance once again. Almost disgusted at her mate's refusal to provide an apology, Eduarda immediately gave one to Alberto herself on César's behalf.

"I am terribly sorry, Alberto." The macaw in question that had received the apology still shivered in anguish and could not even bear to express his gratitude to the Matriarch by verbal means. He could only nod in reply, a gesture that was more than enough for Eduarda to understand. A number of seconds afterward, he managed to extend his wings, then turning around in the opposite direction of where Eduarda and her mate stood, promptly taking flight and thenceforth making his way back to his hollow.

Once he had left the Torres Tree, Eduarda immediately directed a stern look towards César with her wings crossed over her chest, her eyes then diverting between her mate and the hollow entrance. The former of the two let out a sigh, before going on to begrudgingly follow her as they both entered the hollow, preparing for a discussion over the events that had just taken place.

Indeed, a form of physical punishment was considered quite harsh as Alberto had only held an indirect role in the unsuccessful food-gathering operation, though just as César had stated, a war could easily ignite, now that Caetano wielded the ability to practice the complete manipulation of his subjects. To say the least, a keg that had before borne not a grain of powder along it had suddenly come to bear a whole strand of it. Now, all that was required in order for said keg to explode was a match.


	2. Eduardo the Petulant

_**Greetings again! I'm deeply sorry the second chapter is a week late of my intended schedule, and this is largely because I realized that after a thorough review, I disliked this chapter and subsequently did a ton of editing work. For those of you wondering, yes, Eduardo and Mimi are finally the focus of the story and will be the main protagonists up until the second half. Let's fly!**_

Somewhere around eleven o'clock in the morning, bright beams of light from the melting sun steadily seeped its way into the hollow entrance into a scattershot pattern, touching all of the ground, every corner, and every bed. There were six beds in the hollow that stood around three feet away from the entrance. All of which were made of hollowed-out rock and were stacked atop each other like bunk beds. They were each very spacious and wide, but quite uncomfortable on their own.

Crumpled-up leaves were often taken from the base of the tree by César, put into piles, and shoved at the end of each bed to act as pillows. Every month or so, the leaves would be replaced with new, fresh ones, as the old leaves would eventually turn brown and start to decay, becoming hard and stagnant rubbish.

While César and Eduarda had both awoken nearly an hour ago and had already left the tree entirely to go and collect the freshest wild berries from the south side of the tribe for breakfast, their two heirs were still very well asleep.

The light from the sun now crawled on the floor, slowly creeping up on the edge of the first bed in the hollow. This delightful set of sunbeams began to slowly wrap around Prince Eduardo in his bed like a smooth, shining blanket of rays. It crawled onto his feathered back, sloping down above his neck and touching the edges of his cheeks, and his broad, eagle-like beak that he had inherited from his father.

He had been nothing but restless the night before due to some worry about Spix's Macaw military operations in the deepest parts of Scarlet territory. The stress and hard thinking had caused literal pain in his head, and it had certainly caught up to him. This made him sleep two hours past his normal sleeping schedule of which he had set for himself.

Eduardo was seven years old, just barely now an adult, as his birthday had only been a few weeks ago. But even so, he was surprisingly almost the same height as his father, which was quite impressive for such a young adult. His body was a lighter shade of blue than most other members of the Tribe, similar to that of his father's. His body feathers were shiny and silky, also similar to his father's.

His tail feathers were long, thick, and sharply edged like broadswords, and his wings were an odd combination of turquoise on the underside and ocean-blue on the top. Several remnants of the childhood white on his beak were still somewhat visible, still sparsely scattered along its surface.

The name, "Eduardo," was simply a masculine version of his mother's name, and although it was a fairly common name throughout the majority of the Tribe, he was the first major member in the history of the Torres Family to ever bear that specific name.

Eduardo's head feathers were one of the few things that very much differed from César, being very spiked in shape, sticking out the back of his head in the form of a flat slope across his head. They were similar to the head feathers possessed by his grandfather, Almir the Great, who was often considered the best leader the Spix's Macaw Tribe had ever seen in its 457-year existence.

As a matter of fact, even the Scarlet Tribe still admired the incredible leadership and diplomacy Almir had practiced throughout his reign, despite the fact the Scarlets were now one of the most hostile tribes towards the Spix's, only surpassed by the Blue-throated Macaws from the very edge of Rondônia, a southward Brazilian State that ran along the border with one of its neighbors, Bolivia.

Eduardo began twisting and turning in his bed for a few moments, then curling up into a ball and afterward sprawling outward, and then twitching like an insect. Then, the light lying over his face like a cloud rested upon his blue eyelids, creating a signal in his mind that he needed to wake up immediately.

As he started blinking in surprise at the abrupt end to a dream that had been brewing for two hours, his first immediate instinct was to rise up and blink constantly to get rid of the rheum that circled around his eyelids like rings of feasting parasites.

He now fully opened his pale-green eyes, although his vision was still rather blurry. Eduardo carefully rose up from where he was lying in bed, making sure he didn't accidently bump his head on his older sister's bed that stood just inches above his. After all, his sister, Princess Mimi, would often be quite irritated when her brother woke her up by unexpectedly slamming his head against her bed.

Mimi was slightly older than Eduardo, at the peculiar age of eight, and although older, was far shorter than her brother by at least five inches. Even though it was very common for a sister to be slightly shorter than her brother by a few inches throughout the Tribe, it was somewhat rare for an older sibling to be so diminished in terms of height and stature. She was somewhat plump, her bright cerulean-feathered abdomen always extending a couple of inches outward past the base of her broad chin.

White streak-like markings ran down the sides of her face, which was also a very common feature for females in the Tribe to possess. Her wings were short and stubby, although her wing feathers were thick and silky, (especially on the undersides) sporting a very vibrant shade of a combination of dark and light turquoise, the former making up the center of the wings and the latter making up the individual feathers that extended out from the center of her wings.

A mass of head feathers stuck out from the back of her head and arched downward, touching the back of her neck, resembling a dark-blue mountain slope.

Although Mimi wasn't particularly a good leader, she was often far more competent than her brother when it came to handling small domestic situations and petty disputes, and was generally polite, calm, and patient with others in the vast majority of whatever unpleasant situations were to occur.

Her brother on the other hand was often very impatient, put up quite an attitude, and singled out virtually anyone who challenged his beliefs on how the Tribe should be run after he would aspire to the position as Patriarch in the coming years; both César and Eduarda were aging quickly, and were estimated by their personal healers that they would probably continue leading the Tribe for only another five to twelve years before either retirement or their eventual deaths.

Mimi herself had sparked a major bit of controversy and uproar several years ago, as she had willfully refused the position of Matriarch, even though she was the oldest of the two siblings. She continued insisting to both her family and to the rest of the Tribe that she was not "courageous enough" for the title of Matriarch in the future.

In the tribe, some of the most valued aspects of a Patriarch or a Matriarch (although since the Tribe's creation, there had never been a Matriarch in position of ruling power) was great leadership, courage, and strength, advantages that Eduardo definitely held strongly over Mimi in nearly every regard.

She shifted in bed for a while, twisting and turning endlessly, sometimes clutching her wingtips over the set of fresh leaves that sat between the hard, stone bed and her feathered head.

Below her, Eduardo's eyes widened to get a clear sight of what was around him, before he was finally satisfied with himself. He propped himself up on his bed with the bases of his wingtips, lifting his leg over his side, touching the ground beneath him with his talons.

Eduardo slowly, but surely, pulled himself out of bed, slightly stumbling as he walked for a few seconds, before staring straight ahead at the outside beyond the hollow entrance. All he could see from this angle was the bright cerulean sky covered with white, soft clouds that took on many forms and shapes from the distance, some resembling islands, some resembling wedge-shaped daggers, and so on and so forth.

He stood still for a moment, and after registering in his mind that there were no voices or any other macaws around him, he then quickly realized his parents were gone. Eduardo's head briefly twirled around in search of his parents, before he put his wing to his face and sighed deeply. His wing released his face before he quickly turned around, looking up at his sister, who was still sleeping along her bed.

"Mimi! Wake up, now!" Eduardo hollered with slight frustration in his deep, sharp voice, tapping his talons on the floor. Several seconds passed, but no response came from his sister. He opened his beak to try again, but the sleeping Mimi now awoke, her eyelids pulling themselves open, her body shifting to her side. When she had turned all the way around, she grunted slightly, with her head to its side.

"Eduardo, why now?" Mimi complained to her sibling, whilst sporting a very irritated look.

"Both Mom and Dad are apparently gone, it seems, so if both of us want to find out where they went, I suggest you get up immediately and start moving," he replied, his head shifting away in silence.

"Sure thing, but tomorrow, I promise you, I'll sure as heck even out the score," she growled with a devious smile across her beak. She got out from her bed, gripping the edges of the stone bunk and almost pulling herself out forcefully with the tips of her wings, similar to how her brother arose out of bed. Her talons lightly rested on the top of Eduardo's bunk to prevent herself from accidentally falling.

Seconds later, she used her short wings to gently hover from off the edges of her brother's bunk and gently descended onto the ground, now landing beside Eduardo.

She stepped forward, now giving him an angrier look, her head feathers hanging down and her blue eyes slanted upward. "Satisfied?"

"Sure, I'm satisfied, now let's try and figure out where they left. Yet again, Mom and Dad probably flew off to gather some of our breakfast foods. They sometimes did that when we were chicks to surprise us."

"Well, if that's the case, the breakfast better be darn good, because I _hate_ it when you do that!" she snapped, clapping one of her wings onto her face in hostility.

After Eduardo's impatient look turned to a smile, he started chuckling to himself, clapping towards his sister as well, almost in a manner of mockery. Mimi in response gave her brother a glare of deceit.

Suddenly, all in the hollow was silent when the abrupt sound of wings pounding on air could be heard. It sounded like fast wingbeats, of which their frequency gradually sped up every second. This simply could not be ignored.

Eduardo's chuckling phase came to a halt, as he got ahold of himself, now walking towards the entrance, and then stepping up to its tall wooden lip, placing one talon on top of the edge to raise himself higher for a better view of the area. Several seconds passed, and he found nothing.

He soon figured he would have a better chance of catching sight of anything if he were able to observe from a branch outside, although it did carry the strong possibility of leading to a dangerous situation, despite the fact it could very well be the two's parents who were approaching.

Quickly, Eduardo decided not to watch from the stable branch sitting directly below the entrance as he not only wanted a better view, but he wanted to see if there was anything else beyond the birds approaching at some sort of flight angle to the left or right side.

The young macaw cautiously lifted his wings at a certain angle before lunging forward and his talons releasing their grip on the hollow entrance's lip. He glided in the air for about three seconds, before coming in close proximity with one of the very thick and heavy branches sitting about five feet from the entrance, grasping it with his talons as he landed.

Seconds later after he had landed, his eyes widened as they had already started to train on something out in the distance. They were at first from this angle, nothing more than a pair of blue figures bearing wings, making their way towards the tree at a high speed. Eduardo at first reckoned it was César and Eduarda, but he still continued to observe them for a number of seconds.

Once the two unidentified macaws were now at a proper distance for close observation, there was no doubt they were Spix's Macaws, although almost immediately after spotting their faces, they were most definitely not César and Eduarda.

This at first was somewhat disheartening to both Eduardo and to Mimi, (the latter of whom was now onlooking from the hollow entrance) but suddenly, the pair recognized the two birds once they were at a distance of some thirty yards.

The two approaching macaws consisted of a very well-known and recognized Tribal messenger by the name of Alberto Jader Guava and one of his best friends and personal assistants, as well as a very notable member of Alberto's very own Fourth Squadron in the Spix's Macaw Warrior Pact, Verde Nova.

Both of whom were good friends with Eduardo and to some extent, had engaged in friendly interactions with Mimi every now and again, although this usually only happened during celebrations when nearly the whole Tribe was involved, most notably New Year's Day (which in the Macaw Calendar was the 27th of April, referring to the date of which the first macaw tribe was created in the human year 1498.)

Alberto and Verde had become friends when they were only four and three months old respectively, as they shared common ground on who they liked and disliked. This was further helped by the fact that both of them had experienced somewhat troubled childhoods to say the least; Alberto was born with only a mother to tend to him for almost his entire life, as his father, Acir died of illness early on.

Verde shared similar problems early in life, losing his father, Toninho to a tragic border patrol accident before he was even born. According to many rumors, he had been named by his mother for the color of his father's light-green eyes that shined like a pair of marbles, and coincidentally, Verde shared exactly the same eyes as his father, leading many to eventually give him the derogatory name "Green Bird."

The two macaws, now at a somewhat short distance of just over twenty yards, appeared to be both carrying several sets of long, thin twigs with rows of berries dangling from them, grasped firmly in their talons. They were pushing up and down on the air rapidly with their wings, flying at a remarkable speed.

When the two messengers were approaching at a distance of only two yards, they slowed down, until they finally landed on a thick, steady branch about a yard away from the hollow entrance. Strangely to Eduardo, the two weren't panting at all even after that great burst of speed. The two macaws simply took deep breaths occasionally, although Verde looked somewhat weary, but not quite enough to be alarmed.

After nearly a minute had passed, Eduardo flew back down to the branch standing below the entrance and walked back into the entrance itself. He started tapping his right foot constantly as he began to feel rather impatient with the two men. "You two, please explain your presence!"

"My Lord Eduardo - "Verde began in his Brazilian accent, coughing into his wing, before he resumed, his head shaking by a slight degree. "Around thirty minutes ago, the two of us were flying in the east of the Tribe for inspection purposes, mainly to make sure the new recruits weren't screwing up. However, we ended up arriving there quite late." Eduardo looked on in boredom, waiting as Verde made a brief pause in his speaking, before he continued.

"As a matter of fact, we arrived upon the closing minutes of the new recruit's shifts. Thankfully, nothing went wrong, and since we were at the border with the Red-bellied Macaw Tribe, there was no border hostility to be found, although I reckon that one of them some fifty meters ahead was armed with a spear of some sort. Several minutes after the session ended, rendering our entire trip there basically pointless, we stopped at one of the fruit trees to pick some fruit for eating, until we conveniently ran into both César and Eduarda who were flying by - Alberto, can you do the rest of the talking please?"

Alberto sighed in almost dismay, before opening his beak to continue where Verde left off. "As they were hovering around the trees, gathering berries, they suddenly noticed us, and I especially, was very uneasy about flying around such a daunting individual. Surprisingly, César directly apologized to me for once, saying he was '"deeply sorry for screaming like a spoiled chick."' In case you're wondering, it was about an incident this morning that I'd rather not speak about for the moment."

Eduardo still looked somewhat impatient with a stern look on his beak, now tapping his toes at a more frequent pace. This was a clear signal to Alberto that he had not explained enough. Alberto looked nervous again, before continuing his explanation.

"Moving on, once I fully realized that he had actually apologized to me, it almost made me smile in return. However, by the look that suddenly appeared on César's broad beak, I suspected that he regretted apologizing. Since I've already got enough of a "wondrous" record with him, I just continued on listening to him. All the sudden, he ordered both me and Verde to take the berries he had gathered minutes ago for delivery to you for breakfast."

"So in other words, you came here to be our breakfast delivery birds, anything else?" Eduardo said in a harsh, hostile tone, with a hint of sarcasm. Alberto sighed in return as he kept explaining.

"In turn, I quickly asked César why he couldn't just deliver the berries to you instead. After he gave me a hard slap to the face for questioning his orders, he went on and said that it had something to do with him and his wife attending an extremely important council meeting located in the Great Mouth."

"Hmm, the Great Mouth?" Eduardo questioned in a high-pitched voice with a brow raised and his wings folded across his chest.

"Yes, the Great Mouth. It's a very large open hole of dirt encircled by stones on the inside, where plenty of meetings are held and major arguments are constantly sorted out, especially between the different military units we've got. Back in the day when you were little, César would fly to our unit meeting trees and pull us by our tails both literally and figuratively to the Great Mouth after some sort of disagreement of squad size caused some uproar in organization and a whole bunch of other nonsensical, petty issues."

"Interesting, go on," Eduardo's tone of voice changed dramatically from irritable to positive.

"Anyway, in case you're curious, the Great Mouth is about thirty minutes away northwards of the Agua Waterfall by wing, which I suspect one of my friends, Neto, had passed by nearly three hours ago. The Agua is approximately a quarter of a mile away from the border with the old Scarlets."

"It's that close, huh? Do you have any other useful information?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. As you can probably imagine, I gave an inquiry to the Patriarch on exactly what the meeting was about, and whether or not the meeting itself had anything to with me screwing up. He replied that, yes, it was about the subject matter that my job was involved with, but the meeting would be focused more on figuring out how to conduct good diplomacy with the Scarlets rather than ridiculing me for all the laughs, which was a pleasant surprise, considering how ticked at me he was this morning."

"Anything else?" Eduardo asked sharply, his voice now at a much deeper level than previously.

"César's final remark on the meeting before we parted ways and flew off was that you in particular are to be completely restricted from entering the meeting by just about any means necessary. Before you start interrogating me on why your father doesn't want you there, I swear, I simply don't know, and the reason is simply because he refused to answer when I responded to him with the same questions you probably have circulating throughout your head if you were present there."

"Are you serious? ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Eduardo shrieked in anger, his head feathers spiked up and his already pale-green eyes now as white as a ghost.

Both Alberto and Verde for the next several seconds stared at each other, exchanging equally gobsmacked looks during Eduardo's short burst of outrage. Both of them also gulped worriedly as they broke eye contact, still observing and leaning back with now cautious expressions on their beaks.

After Eduardo paced in circles, his feathered face as red as a tomato, he began striking the floor of the entrance beneath him with the might of his talons. Alberto folded his wings behind his back, whilst whistling to himself an old song in Tribal tradition in a desperate effort to kill time and wait for the young Prince in front of him to stop what very closely resembled a chick-like temper tantrum.

Verde purposefully stared off into space, attempting to appear oblivious, but this was easily hindered by the loss of both of the messenger bird's patience. The two looked at each other for a brief moment again, exchanging nods. Verde subsequently kept looking on as the macaw in front of him kept bellowing and giving constant shrill cries of animosity, causing Verde to look down below him, clapping his face, whilst also giving a heavy sigh.

Alberto now ignored Verde and decided to do something. He looked forward and slowly extended out his wing to Eduardo to shake the latter's wing. This did nothing, however. Alberto, like his companion, also let out a sigh, now arching his neck back in an uncomfortable manner, looking straight up at the sky.

Mimi, who was standing only a few feet behind her brother in the hollow was now growing extremely annoyed, deciding that the only way to end this once and for all was to take action. She stormed into the entryway to the hollow, sneaking behind Eduardo and unceremoniously slapping him on the back of the head with her wing, somewhat disorienting him. As he turned around to face his sister, he then carried a very displeased look upon his face.

"Get a grip, Eddie, scram!" Mimi squawked in sheer exasperation, forcefully shoving her brother to the side of the entrance wall, then wriggling past him, and using her stubby wings to take flight. As she left the hollow, she made a sharp turn southwards, muttering the word "idiot" under her breath quite loudly, however, the noticeable echo somewhat distorted the sound, preventing it from being understandable to the other three macaws' ears.

About a full minute had passed, and Mimi was completely out of sight, now past several rows of tall trees that made up the vast majority of the canopy of the rainforest above. Alberto and Verde's necks were craned in the direction she had flown, staring off into the jungle with somewhat disappointed looks in their eyes. Alberto let out another sigh, and Verde turned back to face Eduardo in silence.

Eduardo too, looked out into the trees his sister had passed by with an expression of utmost guilt on his beak, although he was calmer now that his sister had interrupted his outburst, and to a noticeable degree, he was quite suspired, but still, he was not at all happy in the slightest. For a brief moment, he turned away, shrugging his shoulders, before looking ahead and now placed his attention on the two messengers that stood before him.

After he made a sharp, angry grunt, he decided to break some of his frustration by standing stoutly and upbeat, which only served to render his presence inside the hollow less frightening. In many ways, Prince Eduardo was very reminiscent of his father, and unpredictable behavior and irritability towards anyone but his own family was certainly one of the many traits from César that had been passed on down to him.

For several seconds, Alberto and Verde stood awaiting any orders or any further questions before Eduardo leaned forward, his broad wings freely hanging to his sides, and his pale-green eyes squinted, then opening his beak and standing upright, pacing about the hollow entrance in a confident manner like a military general speaking in a briefing center.

"Now that I have assessed the location of this purported Great Mouth thanks to your information, I speak now to issue a number of orders for you two, as your future Patriarch. You will follow my orders exactly as I command them, and when I command them. Now, I hereby order both of you to immediately lead me to the Great Mouth," Eduardo said in a deep, serious manner, then halting his pacing at the last two words, looking onward at the two messengers.

"Do you honestly expect that we would submit to your outrageous requests and just permit you to fly off in the distance like your sister, and play a little childhood game of eavesdropping, which in turn would seriously jeopardize our very livelihoods, all in the name of you not displaying a massive temper tantrum before us?" Verde almost spat at Eduardo in anger, although at the same time, he gave a light chuckle at the thought of the Prince blackmailing him into disobeying César.

Eduardo was nothing but absolutely stunned at these words, and right now, the only emotion that came to mind throughout him was pure enmity striking him. His eyes widened, now resembling much more of a circular form. His eyes glowed in a feeling of resentment and arrogance, and for about a minute or so, he kept on giving a deep and sinister glare of hate, a large wildfire crackling in his irises.

Alberto was somewhat shaking, terrified at the almost identical similarities between César and Eduardo's extremely harsh temper, astonished that for even a minute, he and Eduardo had actually laughed merrily together by the waterfalls several years ago at the Açaí Berry Grove.

He was at lost for words, refusing to believe such joyful laughter from that moment that firmly stood in Alberto's mind was attributed to the same individual who possessed the same exact personality traits of his petulant father who had the great possibility of threatening him, his family, his marriage, his career, and his reputation.

"Well, I see you two are somewhat distressed at the very thought of simply adhering to _my_ commands!" Eduardo snapped. "I'd like to question your loyalty to my father based on this question, which I mind you, is pretty straightforward: if you are so loyal to my father, why is it that you, Alberto, seem to twitch and jitter in fear every time you hear the name "César?" At this, I myself am bewildered that you pretend that you are utmost loyal to him no matter what circumstance, since you display such uneasiness at even the mention of his very name. To put it quite simply, you are lying to yourself, Alberto."

Alberto's beak dropped as these words were spoken, in both bewilderment and despair. At the last sentence spoken by Eduardo, he gulped slightly, leaning backward, and he panted heavily for the next several seconds. His head twisted and turned in confusion, searching for some type of answer to counter this, but he couldn't. Finally, Verde turned, facing his friend as he opened his beak and spoke to him.

"Well, Alberto, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but he's kinda right," Verde admitted in shame, shrugging his shoulders whilst his head was tilted at a leftward angle. Alberto looked dismayed at the abrupt realization that in truth, he hated working for César.

He hated almost every aspect of César's personality, from his extremely irritable nature and attitude, to his cruel and heartless treatment of the vast majority of his servants except for Alberto and several others, and by far his worst aspect was his unpredictable and dangerous outbursts. As Alberto leaned forward, trying to comprehend his actual emotion towards his Patriarch, clutching the sides of his head, Verde continued speaking, now in a much more relaxed tone.

"I've noticed recently that whenever César calls you up for even the most simplistic of tasks, like fetching him a refreshment while the sun is baking the Tribe in the month of November, you are always hasty, and you are seemingly always agog whenever César dismisses you from this hollow. Once you put aside the Tribal patriotism and all, you come across as nothing but a total hypocrite who lectures everyone to hail our Patriarch and all that nonsense, and then proceed to hate his actions so dearly!"

Eduardo's facial expression now changed from an ominous glare of hate to a grin of pleasant surprise. He coughed quickly into his wing, turning around, and then seconds later turning back to face Alberto and Verde.

The former was still leaned forward, although he had now transitioned from clutching the sides of his face with his wings to cupping his face into his wings, sobbing in anguish. Clearly audible sobs could be heard by Eduardo, who stood there with a somewhat sympathetic expression on his beak.

Verde stood there patiently, and after another moment had passed, he lifted his wing and gently wrapped it around Alberto's shoulders to comfort him, but this hardly changed anything. Eduardo stood there, his wings folded behind his back and his head turned in the other direction.

He couldn't help but feel compassionate for Alberto, but at the same time, he wanted to concentrate primarily on getting to the Great Mouth, and in his mind, there was no time to tend to his friend's emotional breakdown. To get rid of the guilt that surrounded him, he began tapping his talons on the lip of the entrance, simultaneously whistling.

Eduardo turned forward and could not only hear the depressing, muffled sobs of Alberto, but he could also clearly see his tears seeping through his wing feathers and trickling down them, leaving tiny teardrops on the branch of which he stood upon.

After a long moment passed by, spanning over some two-and-a-half minutes, Alberto gradually lifted his tear-soaked face from the centers of his wings, his eyes a faint shade of pink, and tears still trickling down the sides of his face. His feathers on both his face and his wings were now stained with tears, and the upset macaw trembled heavily, and then abruptly bowed his head to Eduardo, leaving Eduardo himself quite surprised, but in a very positive way.

"Eduardo, from...this minute forth... I, Alberto Guava offer my services and loyalty to you as my future Patriarch, for I...no longer - will no longer adhere to César the Third," Alberto spoke in a muffled, imperfect voice, sounding extremely satisfied at the last several words. "What do you command?"

"I want you to lead me to the Great Mouth so that I can figure out what my father is concealing from me," Eduardo replied with a calm and soothing tone to his voice. "Nothing more, nothing less."

"Very well then," Alberto replied, the tears leaking from his eyes finally starting to disappear. Verde stood there in silence and uneasiness, but he as well, bowed his head to Eduardo.


	3. Intentions to Bypass

_**Hello again, and happy seventh anniversary, Rio! Has it truly been this long already? Now that all of the nostalgia is dealt with, I'd first like to make a brief announcement; from now on, there will be a new feature of sorts in my stories, which I will like to call the "Author's Fact of the Day," which will be located at the bottom of the story, in the same spot a closing author's note would be located. Also, please review, it is greatly appreciated!**_

For several long, drawn-out moments, the three Spix's Macaws standing at the tall, broad-trunked, and ancient Tree of Torres, all took part in the simple, yet powerful act of tensely staring at each other directly in the eyes, with a hint of nervousness clearly present as every now and again, their eyes rapidly flickered.

Even though the latter two macaws, (Alberto Guava and Verde Nova) standing on the branch had pledged their loyalty to Eduardo, every aspect of the current moment was for some strange reason, nothing but awkward, yet at the same time, almost everything surrounding them or something that was even simply in plain view was locked within a somber state of silence.

Not a single decibel could be heard from anything, whether it be the chirping of smaller birds, the squawking of macaws and other various neotropical parrots, or the roaring of the waterfalls.

Although the Tree of Torres and its outskirts were absolutely encompassed with beautiful sites of nature and dazzling tropical colors, the sorrowful and bleak nothingness due to the lack of sound, that was present within the area itself was hardly, if at all better than that which could be found at a long-forlorn graveyard. However, there was not a single depressing or otherwise disheartening or distressing event that had recently occurred.

Adding to the sheer bizarre nature of the presence of the somber feeling throughout all within view, was the lack of any sort of proper exchanges between the three macaws, whether they be displayed on their beaks or by any other means. The closest thing that came to a conversation during the duration of these several moments was the constant flickering of the eyes.

Alberto, who had been blinking for several seconds, eventually kept his eyelids closed for almost five full seconds. As his focus briefly left his mind, his talons began slowly losing their grasp on the several sets of long, thin twigs covered in wild berries. They slowly shifted forward from Alberto's talons as his clutch on them gradually loosened.

Verde's head then pointed downward, his pair of emerald-green eyes now giving their attention to Alberto's feet. Although Verde knew full well what Alberto was doing without even realizing it was in no way intentional, he still thought of the moment of Alberto releasing his grasp on the twigs as almost a sort of protest to the orders of César. He decided to purposefully let go of the berries as well.

Several seconds later, the berries once clutched in the talons of Alberto and Verde fell off the branch and plummeted to the ground, largely undamaged even after that large of a fall and impact. There was not a single pair of eyes that had been trained on the berries as they had fallen.

Now, the sole remaining audible sound lied with the exceptionally soft and cool wind, now whistling faintly as it crept up onto multiple branches surrounding the outskirts. Eventually, the wind's direction slithered in the fashion of a boa through the rainforest, the whistle taking on a higher pitch as it came into direct contact with the tangled assortments of green vines that dangled down from the branches, of which were borne by the stunningly tall trees that were at the very least, several decades old.

Each tree in the area, although set in no particular order, spun around the Tree of Torres and formed a massive circle around it, creating what strikingly resembled from an aerial view, a green eye with a brown-and-green iris at its center.

This led to many visitors to the Spix's Macaw Tribe (including macaws of other Tribes and various other birds belonging to nomad groups or none at all) using "The Green Eye," as a general nickname for the location, the term first being coined by Scarlet Matriarch Júlia II, the consort of the famous Patriarch Oliveira IV, who ruled over the Scarlet Macaw Tribe from 1936 - 1976.

The wind soon resumed its course and furthered north. It passed beneath the canopy, touching the trunks of the trees, and the wind seemingly then wrapped around the trees themselves. If the cold wind wasn't invisible, it would be most probable that the breeze wrapping around the tree trunks would share the distinct spiral shape of a coil spring.

Not long afterward, the wind was already drifting upward past the trunks of the trees, and now began to harshly tug at the edges of the branches' large, scattered leaves, along with their numerous vibrantly-colored fruits, of which all came in a wide variety of sizes and condition. Some of which were large and glamorous, and others were short and bruised, and so on and so forth.

About forty more seconds passed, and the wind gradually drifted down, ceasing its grasp on the trees' fruits, now bearing a much fainter, yet lower pitch to the sound of its whistle. It steadily began to spread out further, then very slowly blanketing much of the forest floor that stood below it.

The breeze then proceeded to sweep over the forest floor and violently gust through the crevices of each individual feather borne by any bird that stood in its path. However, the wind only encircled around the Tree of Torres, and for some strange reason, the wind was confined to the base of the trunk surrounded by its jagged, rune-shaped roots, and during this time, it never ascended any further.

Besides the arrogant Prince Eduardo, along with Alberto and Verde, (whom of which were all still staring at one another in absolute silence) the only birds that were still in sight were a small group of four marbled wood quails, all of whom were standing in a circle, some twenty-eight feet west from the Tree.

The group of quails shivered and chirped simultaneously on the ground, their brown eyes widened, and their beaks sporting looks of dread, in response to the unusual sensation of being penetrated through both their plumage and skin by an unknown and invisible frigid substance.

After all, they were flightless birds, and unlike the vast majority of other birds living amongst them in the Amazon, they were not at all used to the soft and cold breeze that would every now and again brush over the feathers of birds with the ability to fly, who would often experience it at either high altitudes or during the Winter in the months of June, July, August, and September.

The four quails shrieked, and proceeded to use their thin, twig-like legs to immediately scurry across the forest floor and seek refuge near the entrance to the Tribe, where it was far more humid. At this, the sound of a craning neck suddenly broke all silence that surrounded the Tree of Torres.

From the very edge of the rightward branch protruding from the lip to the entrance to the great hollow, Alberto looked back at the site from which the quails had just made their mad dash of fear, expressing a look of genuine empathy and sadness on his beak, his blue-feathered head hanging.

Eduardo's large and gleaming pair of pale-green eyes rolled upward and then downward in their sockets in unison, a sudden, wide frown now present on his broad, eagle-like beak. The feathers on his left wing puffed out slightly, resembling a feathered prism, and he sharply coughed into his wing intentionally.

Alberto, whose body was still faced towards where the quails had run, was alarmed at the raspy sound that had just erupted from the beak of the bird that stood directly behind him. His heart jumped, and his green eyes flickered before he realized it was Eduardo who had made the sharp coughing sound.

His talons shook slightly, before he slowly turned around, with his wings slightly extended outward past his flank, before Verde turned to him at a leaning angle, whispering slowly, which in his Brazilian accent sounded somewhat odd.

"Alberto, look confident and don't do anything stupid, I really think the Prince is ticked at you!" As soon as Verde finished speaking, he leaned back and resumed his upright stance.

"Ahem!" Eduardo sternly coughed again whilst expressing a wide frown, his talons tapping the entrance's lip numerous times. "Did you honestly believe I didn't hear your whispering, Verde?"

For a moment, both Alberto and Verde sported frightened looks, their chest and head feathers moderately extended outward and their tail feathers now positioned at an upward angle. At this, Eduardo rolled his eyes again and clapped mockingly with his wings, now speaking in a tone of frustration.

"Oh, for the life of me, stop shuddering in fear at the sight of me as if you're some newborns facing off with a jaguar!" he sighed in aggravation. "You've already sworn your loyalty to me and I honestly couldn't care less if I just see you making stupid remarks under your breath, or if you stare at some unfortunate birds for a minute who unlike us, weren't given the gift of flight by Selva. Now please, halt your feelings of dread, stare at me in the face, and get down to business!"

"Thank you for your kindness, My Prince!" Verde cried out in relief, throwing his wings above his head.

"Verde, silence!" Eduardo shouted in anger, then turning his head to face Alberto. "Remember what I said, Alberto, nothing more, nothing less! Tell me what to do and lead me there!"

Verde's facial expression turned grim, carrying a look of disappointment in his emerald-green eyes. He hung his head in shame, and for a brief while, looked directly at Eduardo, who now turned his head to him saying nothing, only staring at him in the eyes in a disreputable manner.

Alberto was stricken at this, and somewhat insulted that his friend had been shouted down by Eduardo even though he had praised him, but he knew the Prince was a very determined macaw willing to do just about anything to grasp something he wished to possess.

After all, Eduardo, along with being the beloved heir to César, had also performed many unsavory acts throughout his childhood to extract information his father had hidden from him, gaining him quite the level of infamy within some localities of the Tribe.

However, this time, it was not only frustrating to Eduardo that his father would prohibit him from attending the council meeting, it was also rather suspicious, especially as tensions were high with the Scarlet Tribe, and had been for about a month ever since the forced abdication and abduction of José I.

Alberto thought hard for a moment and let out a heavy sigh as he finished thinking, ultimately deciding in his mind that, from Eduardo's perspective of feeling nothing but anger at the fact his own father had hidden him away from a secret court meeting, it was quite understandable of why he would present hostility towards anyone he felt would slow him down.

What was troubling for Alberto now was deciphering whether or not what was going on was even at all common in a father-and-son relationship. Alberto could hardly remember his father, Acir, at all, remembering only one moment of joy with him before his tragic death.

As well as losing his father to yellow fever at such a young age, he didn't fare much better with his Aunt Jovita and Uncle Guilherme, who had both been abducted by a mysterious group of Jubilee Macaws only three months after his hatching. Occasionally, some elders within the Tribe still speculated they were still alive. Thus, the two birds were never honored with graves by the Tribe, as there was no definitive evidence to prove they had been killed.

In fact, really the only family member Alberto could actually tie strong memories to was his tranquil, patient, and loving mother, Lilás, who he could recall always cooed to him in a sweet, high-pitched voice, whilst he was tucked within her wings during the night. She had always been transparent with him, and had taught him how to fly, how to speak, and every basic moral lesson he had learned throughout his life.

Every time Alberto was reminded of his mother, he couldn't help but feel at least somewhat depressed, but soon after thinking about her, he decided to almost completely remove his focus from the subject and instead concentrate on whether to respond to Eduardo, who was standing only inches away from him.

Alberto thought hard again for a brief moment, and all of the sudden, he began to regain memories of Lilás softly whispering to him, _My intrepid son, may your thoughts be the explorer and may your heart be his guide_. That statement would always remain in his heart from then on.

After standing for some odd two minutes pondering to himself, he eventually concluded that for the moment, he would put aside all skepticism of sharing information about the Great Mouth to Eduardo, as it would soon be inevitable that he would be forced into doing so, if he were to drag this out much further.

He was now willing to accept the fact that both him and Verde were now under the guise of Eduardo for the time being, and they would be until Eduardo felt he had achieved his goal of finding his way to the secret council meeting within the Great Mouth.

"Alright then!" Alberto began in a very strange tone of nervousness, although it was obvious within the tone of his voice that he was attempting his best to look and sound as positive as possible. As soon as he started speaking, Eduardo's eyes now resembled that of a hawk, whilst the rest of his body was as still as a statue.

It was quite obvious from just the blank expression on his beak, combined with little to no movement, that he was now giving Alberto his undivided attention. After Alberto noticed Eduardo's facial expression, he nervously resumed speaking, coughing into his wing.

"Now, trust me on this one, as a fair little warning, getting into the Great Mouth unauthorized won't be a docile task by any means. If you try and get there without my guidance and expertise on the area's layout and intense level of security, you're about as likely to escape as you're as likely to see a boa that can fly."

"Well, judging by the pathetic methods you two have been pulling out on me to delay this whole thing from being spoken about, I kind of figured that this would be at least somewhat dangerous," Eduardo said sharply, but not in any tone of hostility, which to Alberto was pleasantly surprising. "Now, may I politely inquire; what may be these dangers and hazards that surround the Great Mouth, exactly?"

"For starters, the Great Mouth will be very heavily guarded, and not just along both the outside and inside of the Mouth itself, but as well as the outskirts, the surrounding jungle, all the nearby tree columns, every nomad area filled with vegetation, and heck, even the skies!" Alberto smoothly explained.

"You have got to be pulling my leg!" Eduardo exclaimed, turning to the side for a moment and sporting a look of pure animosity. "You're my father's _chief messenger_ for God's sake! I know you carry some of the deepest knowledge possible about almost every part of this Tribe from in and out! You've spent practically your whole life scouting around areas, looking for objects of interest! Surely there's at least _one_ spot you can deem at least somewhat suitable for staying hidden whilst eavesdropping!"

"I am deeply sorry, but the only place I know of that won't be crawling with sentries is this small and narrow watering hole that sits at a slanted angle from the north end of the Mouth, at a distance of about thirty meters. Many call it the "Inclinado Watering Hole" due to its slanted position. Anyway, if we were to dive under the water and observe from there, it'd be great, but unlike penguins I know of that live in Rio de Janeiro to the far south, we can't swim. We'd drown almost instantaneously, to put it simply."

"How wonderful," Eduardo sighed sarcastically, folding his wings across his chest and both of his eyes rolling up towards the ceiling of the hollow entrance. "How very wonderful indeed! Now, that I've heard that information, I suppose that not all flightless birds are inferior. Selva indeed has his ways, doesn't he?"

Verde, who had the entire time, been simply standing there watching, apart from his gratitude to Eduardo earlier, nodded at Eduardo's remarks despite their sarcastic nature. Suddenly, several thoughts came to him that he believed would deeply change the situation. After several seconds, he decided to break the utmost silence between Eduardo and Alberto that had lasted for a couple of seconds.

"Eduardo, Alberto, may I also add that even if we were able to swim like penguins, what would be the point of listening anyway?" Verde barked, although the only thing on his face indicating any negative emotions was the slight look of anxiousness in his eyes. Although he wouldn't admit it, Verde was just as curious about the subject of the meeting as Eduardo.

Alberto stood on the branch, also adding on to Verde's excellent point, his wings slightly extending outward to the right, pointing to Verde, a sign of admiration. "He does bring an excellent point. It would be nearly be impossible to even hear César alone at thirty meters! Not to mention, there's almost a hundred other birds in there, who will no doubt be bickering with one another and jeering at one another's positions and opinions! Forget that then!"

"Right, there's got to be some other way!" Eduardo roared mildly, making it obvious he was trying not to descend into a petulant outrage. Even at this, his eyes were still glowing with a look of pure irritation. "Is there any possibility of hiding within the foliage and listening from there?"

"Well, to be perfectly honest with you, that may very well be the only way, but that will dramatically increase the likelihood of getting caught by César's sentries," Alberto sighed. "Not only would it be quite difficult for even me of all birds, to bypass them considering how well-trained they are, but since our feathers are blue, and the leaves you suppose taking refuge in upon beginning eavesdropping are bright green, the contrasting colors alone would be pivotal in us being caught on the spot."

"According to your father's top general, Mar, the First Detachment is the particular unit scheduled to guard the Great Mouth once the meeting starts, and keep in mind they spend virtually no time at all back home," Verde said rapidly. "They always prowl around the rainforest giving a very unsettling stare at you if you happen to pass them. I've got to say, it's rather terrifying at times."

"It's truly a shame berry juice doesn't come in green, otherwise, that would be extremely useful in this situation," Eduardo sighed. "I guess our one and only option is to fly there and reach a tree, and then glide from tree to tree once the sentries are caught off guard. Hopefully, no one in the Mouth will turn their head and notice us. Then, once we're in a comfortable position, we'll simply listen, and after the meeting's over, that will be the end of this whole situation."

"I have a little question; why can't we just camouflage ourselves with mud and leaves and hang from a branch?" Verde objected.

"Our own bodies _are_ our camouflage, Verde," Eduardo replied, his eyes blinking.

"Pardon me, Prince Eduardo, but what is that supposed to mean?" Alberto inquired politely.

"There are several reasons why camouflaging in this particular case would be a terrible idea," the Prince answered. "Firstly, laying out the proper camouflage would take at least several minutes, time of which we do not now possess; secondly, it would be extremely suspicious to the guards if they were able to catch sight of three birds flying around in camouflage in an area not designated for warrior training. They would no doubt inspect us as soon as they laid a single eye on our camouflaged bodies."

"Why don't we just simply lie to them and say we're a small detachment of warriors that was sent to the Banana Grove or something basic like that?" Verde suggested.

"That wouldn't work either, Verde!" Alberto snapped. "All of the border guards, except for maybe two or three detachments haven't yet been withdrawn from their shifts at the borders. Before any suggestions are made of the subject, yes, even posing as one of those several detachments that have already been dismissed from the border would be a disastrous decision on our part, as every single sentry surrounding César, or his guards are immediately notified about every checked-in unit."

"Also, if we were to fly to the trees and _then_ camouflage up there, the sentries would instantly catch us!" Eduardo finished swiftly. "However, if we were to fly at high altitude and lower down in the air when near the Great Mouth, only backing our faces away from the sentries, they'd think we're average macaws flying past the meeting."

"Admittedly, that suggestion is pretty comprehensible!" Alberto exclaimed happily, then awkwardly pausing for a moment before continuing with his next sentence. "To be perfectly honest, even I wouldn't have thought of that myself. However, I'd like to point out that if we're going to sneak in and listen by hiding in the foliage, it, in my opinion, it would be the best option to immediately ascend past the canopy when we catch sight of the Seventeenth Tree Column. That way, the guards will be less likely to spot us, and if they do, they will, as you said earlier, think we are ordinary macaws passing by."

Eduardo stood, thinking for several seconds, then proceeding to let out a sigh. "Although that is indeed a superb idea, how would we be able to distinguish each individual tree column so that we could use it as our que to shoot upward and touch the clouds?" Eduardo asked, somewhat skeptical.

"Luckily for us - or for you, who cares - each tree at the front end of each column on both the right and the left will bear a distinct coloring on its trunk made from natural elements and resources," Alberto informed in a calm voice. "As an example, the First Column not far from here is distinguished on the trunks of the front trees by being marked with jabuticaba juice. In case you're worrying about the fading of the juice, keep in mind that new juice and other substances are placed on the trunks every morning by this one macaw named Félix. I've heard that the guy's wing was broken recently in an accident though, so they probably got someone else to take care of his job in the meantime while he's on medical leave."

"The First Column?" Eduardo looked perplexed at this. "That area is so sparsely populated that you'd think it was completely abandoned. Since there's basically no guards there, wouldn't it be a wiser decision to launch upward at that point?"

"No, if there happened to be any guards there, they'd immediately spot us and focus their attention on us since there are no other birds to observe," Alberto argued. "If we were to cut into a massive crowd of macaws, it would make more sense for the sake of blending in with the ordinary birds, and the sentries would have so many macaws to observe that it would be unlikely for them to train their eyes on us for any extended period of time. However, I advise that when we launch sky-high, we at least try to make the effort to not look directly at any of the guards. They'd instantly recognize all of us."

"I agree," Eduardo replied, then awkwardly proceeding to halt speaking for a moment, before he shook his head in aggravation at himself. "Alberto, how much time do you believe we still have until the meeting commences?"

Alberto also shook his head for a couple of seconds, and then proceeded to respond to Eduardo, sighing as he did. "I reckon that we only have about forty-five minutes left until then. If we're to execute the plan properly, we'll need to leave very shortly. Personally, I wouldn't linger here for any longer than three to five minutes."

"In that case, I suppose we must leave this tree immediately or we may miss the meeting," Eduardo sighed, taking a deep breath afterward. He then turned his head and stared directly at Alberto, with a small frown present on his beak. "Are there any more necessary preparations to take care of?"

"No, not to my knowledge, My Prince," Alberto briskly replied.

"Excellent," Eduardo remarked in satisfaction, a wide smile now creeping up on his beak.

Alberto briefly mumbled to himself, before pausing, waiting upon both Eduardo and Verde's attention. As soon as the two other birds' eyes were focused on him alone, he opened his beak, then raising his voice authoritatively as he began barking orders. "Alrighty then! Boys, today, you're going to get some proper air under your wings and have you feathers bristle under the warm sun! Let's fly!" At the last two words, three of the downy feathers on the back of his head spiked up in enthusiasm.

Alberto then turned around for a moment and went on to swiftly extend out his right wing, pointing it northward. After he had craned his neck backward to make sure that the other two macaws had noticed his clear signal of where he intended to lead them, he began spreading out his wings in a vertical line, preparing for takeoff.

Eduardo, now bearing a very alacritous smile across his beak, first made sure he was standing directly in the middle of the entrance to avoid smacking his wings against the walls of the entrance, which would be quite painful as the walls were after all, made of hardened bark.

After he shuffled his feet slightly to the right, his eyes brightened, and his tail feathers swung to the side as he stepped backward and forward, preparing for takeoff. After he was finally satisfied with his current position inside the hollow, he too spread out his wings, then bending his legs slightly so that once he took flight, he would naturally launch at a higher altitude than Alberto and Verde.

This would later be important, as he was currently several feet behind them. Falling behind would be detrimental, as the entire plan was to stay together and to blend in with the average macaws.

Verde stood still for several seconds longer than Eduardo, the expression he sported as calm as it usually was. He then bent his body slightly forward in a similar fashion to Eduardo, and this was done to further streamline his body for a faster launch up in the air.

To refrain from accidentally hitting Alberto with his wings, he pushed down on the air with his wings, hovering upward, and then landed on the same branch, although about a foot or so rightward of Alberto.

He extended his wings outward to his side, bent forward his body again, and turned his head to Alberto for any further orders.

" _Wings, spread!_ " Alberto commanded, bearing the exact same tone in his voice he would use to give orders while training recruits at the border, even though the other two birds had already prepared to take off. Alberto then turned his head to Verde, and then to Eduardo, obviously approving of their flight positions by the look on his face. He soon followed with a second, louder command. " _Fly northward!_ "

After he had spoken that second order, Alberto's eyes widened, and he almost instantaneously thrusted his legs against the branch he stood upon. His pair of grey feet, combined with his distinctive, black, curved talons, which were only a second ago once latched onto the branch, now hung in the air.

His wings continuously pounded up and down on the air as he propelled himself forward from off the branch, and about three seconds afterward, he slowly drifted downward by several feet. Several seconds of later, both of his wings pointed upward, causing him to gradually rise in the air, slightly shaking to the side for several seconds before maintaining a consistent and steady flight course.

Alberto, who was now surpassing the enormous trunk borne by the Tree of Torres, proceeded to turn his wings slightly backward at a tilted angle to increase his speed and lift, making it far less of a nuisance to ascend to higher altitudes. About six seconds after he had launched, he craned back his neck, then suddenly nodding, which was obviously a que for the other two birds to immediately follow him.

After Alberto had finished surpassing the trunk of the Tree of Torres, he elegantly alternated his flight direction by moving his right wing downward and his left wing upward, causing him to turn around the tree to his right-wing side.

Consequently, his flight course had shifted northward, just as he had intended. Alberto now flew at a rather sluggish speed, although intentionally to make sure that the other two macaws did not fall behind.

He turned his head backward, to see Verde, who was now, performing the exact same takeoff procedure Alberto had practiced just seconds ago, although unlike Alberto, Verde did not drift down and rise back up, but instead steadily flew in a straight, parallel line, before turning rightward of the Torres Tree's trunk, following Alberto.

Once Verde had launched in the air, Eduardo, who was now at a convenient straightforward position, angled his head slightly downward, and subsequently pushed himself off the floor of the hollow's entrance.

His wings quickly rose at a ninety-degree angle, forcing the air beneath his body downward and pushing the air directly above him upward so hard, that the sound of his flapping wings was clearly audible by even the several groups of squirrel monkeys that hung from many vines and other types of foliage some one-hundred feet away in the trees westward.

As soon as he realized how loud his wing-flapping truly was, once he caught sight of another squirrel monkey that appeared to be clambering its way up a tree at a barely-noticeable distance to the east,

Eduardo continued, although instead of constantly flapping his wings, he pushed down on the air every three to five seconds, and the rest of the time, he simply hung in the air for a brief moment, gliding forward, unless it was required not to do so.

Eduardo was now at about a sixteen-foot distance from Alberto, although he was somewhat closer to catching up with Verde, who was positioned about three feet behind Alberto in the air. Several seconds had now passed, and Verde turned his neck around, spotting Eduardo, who was still far behind, although he had gained another foot while flying in the air, growing ever closer to the rest of the group.

Verde's attention turned back to Alberto, who was still at least three feet ahead of him, who made unusually quiet flapping sounds as he flew. However, it was no surprise to Verde, as Alberto after all, was both a messenger and a spy. The only sound that could be clearly heard every time Alberto flapped his wings up and down was a near-silent _whumph_.

Interestingly enough, however, was the fact Alberto could only suppress the sound made by flying when not flying at high speed. Verde knew this full well, as he and Alberto had constantly flown together through repetitive columns throughout most of the rainforest during border patrol, each of which consisted of dozens of rows of trees, if not a hundred or more.

Verde flapped his wings at a very high angle, the bases of his wings almost touching the cerulean, bristled feathers that spiked upward along his long, thin neck. By doing this, he was able to fly at a more rapid pace, and eventually, he turned rightward as he ultimately flew beside Alberto. After this, he turned his neck back to Eduardo again, whom of which noticed his look of slight impatience that was present along Verde's short, broad beak.

After seeing Verde's displeased expression, Eduardo sighed to himself, and shortly afterward, he was able to gain a considerable amount of speed as he angled his wings slightly more forward, and let his legs hang in front of the base of his tail feathers. He now flapped his wings in a similar manner to Verde when he had picked up speed. His wings, now at a ninety-degree angle were only several inches from grazing the surface of his feathered neck.

Consequentially, Verde withdrew the frown that he had given Eduardo earlier, replacing it with a bright, warm smile. Eduardo briefly smiled back at him, as he now flew approximately the same distance behind Alberto and Verde that the latter had flown just moments ago.

Immediately following this action, he barrel-rolled leftward, almost diving by several inches in the air as he did, and finally caught up to Alberto. Now, all three birds were beside each other in a straight, parallel line, and Alberto still served as the navigator and leader of the group, his focus never parting from what was directly ahead.

From then onward, the three Spix's Macaws, Eduardo, Alberto, and Verde, all together, pushed onward in the air and eventually managed to pass through the outskirts of the Tree of Torres by wing. As they flew, the crisp, buttercup-yellow beams of sunlight penetrated through the canopy, and focused its light upon the three Spix's Macaws, creating a bright and clear bristling effect on the surface of their feathers.

Now, Eduardo was assured that once he caught sight of a tree marked with jabuticaba juice along its trunk, he would be one step closer to understanding exactly what his own father was hiding from him within the Great Mouth.

 _ **Author's Fact of the Day:**_

 _ **Although Rio first premiered throughout the rest of the world in April of 2011, its first opening was on the 22nd of March 2011, in Rio de Janeiro.**_


	4. Flight and Arrival

All sunbeams that seeped through the lush, green leaves of the trees that made up the canopy of the rainforest and managed to reach down all the way to the forest floor, along with all of the sunlight that still enveloped the entirety of the sky and all within it, had now grown dimmer by a considerable degree.

With this, it was now quite apparent that noon was continuing its gradual approach towards the Brazilian Amazon, although it had still not even reached eleven o'clock in the morning. Contrary to just moments prior when staring directly into the sky would present nothing but an irritating stinging sensation to the eyes, one could now simply take a brief standstill and look above them to gaze at the absolutely majestic nature of the light-blue sky that encompassed everything in sight, from the sun, to the white clouds of a variety of shapes and sizes, as well as the entire jungle that it surrounded from above.

The three Spix's Macaws who had just some odd two minutes ago, surpassed the outskirts encircling the Tree of Torres, (the outskirts of which were comprised of dense groups and masses of foliage) continued flying at a moderately fast cruising speed of about thirty miles per hour, with Alberto, Eduardo, and Verde all still flying beside one another in a horizontal, parallel line. Each macaw was separated apart from each other by about two feet to avoid a potentially dangerous collision.

For the most part, the flight course being maintained by the three birds was quite standard, and the majority of the flight course thus far comprised of the simple task of flying straight ahead, albeit the occasional turn or swerve past a tree standing in the way of the flight path, or diving under several assortments of long, moss-green vines, amongst other various types of foliage that hung from the protruding branches of the many trees that surrounded the group of birds.

An additional minute had just now passed, and the macaws, despite being subject to the humid, stiflingly-hot air, (even when protected by the vast amount of shade) still endured their persistent advancement through the rainforest, with rows upon rows of trees that towered over them being surpassed by the dozen at such a quick pace.

Just as it had been several minutes ago, Alberto remained both the eyes and the guide amongst the three Spix's Macaws, and now, although all three of them remained in a mostly parallel line, Alberto still managed to surpass both Eduardo and Verde flying beside him by several inches or so. He let the other two birds beside him act as the ears of the group, who now carefully listened for any sudden noises.

As they flew, each bird hung their talons outward at the base of their tail feathers, whilst tucking in their feet into the down feathers that covered these areas. Their wings continuously, (at times, several times per second) rose up and down by about ninety degrees, and each time their wings rose up above their heads, pointing upward, the two separate wingtips being simply inches away from lightly coming into direct contact with one another.

Whilst in flight with Alberto carrying on his position of leading the other two macaws through the dense jungle, Eduardo briefly craned his neck backward, upward, and downward, all within a few seconds in an act of observation, scanning all life that lied ahead, above, or below him. This was to assure both him and the others that no potential spies, sentries, or otherwise servants to his father were on their trail. After all, it would be quite plausible at this point that César would dispatch a great number of his guards throughout the jungle with the intended purpose of putting a halt to anyone who dared seek to trespass into the Great Mouth.

So far, the birds had only been flying within the almost-entirely uninhabited sort of buffer zone that stood between the Tree of Torres and the First Column. No other birds except for the odd hoatzin or marbled wood quail were in sight.

All other life that could be seen thus far ranged from several groups of mammals consisting of squirrel monkeys and numerous different species of tamarins that climbed up and down the trunks of various trees, to a multitude of blue-winged butterflies that were scattered throughout the rainforest in groups of often one or two insects. The only act performed by these simple, yet elegant creatures, was lightly fluttering around in circles in a peaceful manner.

After another minute had swiftly gone by, Eduardo craned his neck backward again after he had heard a suspicious slamming noise throughout the rainforest. However, after just several seconds of glancing out into the far southern ends of the rainforest, the sound was revealed to only be that of tree-borne fruits plummeting to the ground after several monkeys had begun to climb their way up both the branches and to the leafy tops of the trees, lightly touching the fruits every few seconds, waiting for the fruit to eventually fall from its branch.

Verde, although not quite as alert as Eduardo, still looked upward at the sound of the falling fruits, although the only thing in sight above him were the many tangled vines that hung from the branches of trees, along with the ever-dimming sunlight that still managed to penetrate the surface of the canopy and touch the forest floor.

Alberto on the contrary, didn't at all alternate his focus from the flight path that lied ahead, and despite the noise, he was still assured, in his mind, that the other two birds that flew beside him would instead perform the vital duty of spotting or hearing potentially suspicious activity amongst them.

He kept staring at every tree in view with his eyes widened to nearly their fullest extent, carefully scanning every tree trunk in sight to make out any possible markers. However, not a single tree in view regardless of species, (whether it be murumuru, açaí, or juçara) did not yet bear any marker.

Eduardo in the meanwhile began to grow ever more anxious by the minute, although still, he just managed to hold onto his hopes of both reaching the Great Mouth and bypassing the security in time to witness the entire meeting. He was doubtful for the moment of this, but he was still at least somewhat hopeful at the possibility.

The only sounds that were still present throughout the jungle lied with the chirping of several insects and the raspy calls of hoatzins that were hidden behind the leaves of the trees, perched up on branches, usually in groups of three to five birds.

To both Eduardo and Alberto, who constantly flew throughout this area, (although Eduardo virtually never flew through the approaching First Column) it was quite common to see at least one or two groups of hoatzins flying throughout the jungle during the Summer, although since Verde's residential hollow within a juçara tree was several miles north, near the Amazon Basin, he was quite puzzled at the hoarse, low-pitched calls that echoed around them while in flight.

Now, it had been approximately four full minutes since the group of three birds had departed from the Tree of Torres, and nothing but feelings of impatience and now, anxiousness brewed inside Eduardo, even though he knew full-well that this flight trip would last for some considerable time. With each surpassing moment, he grew even more impatient with Alberto than he already was just moments prior, and suddenly, a wide frown appeared on his beak, although no one beside him noticed it, as everyone, including him, looked ahead and only ahead. Still, there was not a single sighting of a tree trunk bearing jabuticaba juice smeared along its trunk.

Eventually, Eduardo's wide frown evolved over the course of just a couple of moments, into his beak opening, his head feathers slightly spiking up, and his pale-green eyes slanting downward in anger. The result of this was him proceeding to speak to Alberto in a frustrated and irritable tone. "Alberto, where on earth could those trees possibly be?" At this, Alberto turned his focus around to Eduardo for about a second before resuming to look straight ahead, and then proceeded to give a quick response.

"Do not grow so anxious yet, fair Prince. Once you spot a tree bearing a trunk stained with a blood-red substance, we will dramatically increase our cruising speed and proceed forward, got it?" Verde, who had simply just rolled the corner of his right eye to look upon Eduardo, continued looking ahead.

"Alberto, while we're still engaged in conversation, I urge you to seriously reconsider our plan!" Eduardo said rapidly, staring at Alberto whilst sporting a somewhat worried expression along the surface of his beak. "If we shoot upward at the sight of the Seventeenth Column, there is a good chance we'll be at too slow of a cruising speed to reach the Mouth in time! If we ascend above the canopy at the sight of the First Column, our cruising speed will be increased. There's no obstacles up there for the most part!"

"Well, if you'd like to take the extra risk, then so be it, but if I see a single flash of blue up ahead before we get to the Mouth, keep in mind that I'll be diving into the canopy, and you can deal with the problem on your own!" Alberto almost snapped. "Again, if you want to get a little more air under your wings to reach the meeting earlier, you're at your own risk, to put it quite bluntly. Understood?"

"Yes, and if you please, I wouldn't mind your seriousness being toned down by a wide margin," Eduardo complained, rolling his eyes. At this, Alberto sighed heavily, exchanging slight nods between him and Eduardo as the three birds continued pressing onward through the jungle.

For the next several moments, the group remained continuously silent, whilst the Amazon itself remained clamorous, as it continued with the many ambient sounds it always produced at this time of day. The macaws kept advancing by wing through the dense rainforest for nearly another minute, until suddenly, something caught Alberto's eye.

It was a single murumuru tree of broad stature and large height, but what was intriguing to Alberto was that this tree in particular possessed a faint streak of what appeared to the ordinary eye, as faded maroon paint with a small tint of black in some areas, at some thirty feet ahead.

However, Alberto, with not a single doubt in his mind, knew it was the few surviving remnants of some jabuticaba juice that had been marked along the tree trunk by another Spix's Macaw warrior named Félix. Due to the juice having largely faded from the trunk, Alberto estimated that the juice was no less than a week old, although it was likely that it was painted far earlier than that.

At the very sight of the jabuticaba juice painted along the trunk of the tree, Alberto almost instantaneously began to flap his wings up and down much more frequently, quickly surpassing both Eduardo and Verde by several feet in less than a second, and whilst gaining lift by flying progressively faster, he tilted the backward ends of his wings slightly upward to rapidly increase his elevation in the air.

Without any words at all being exchanged between the three Spix's Macaws, Eduardo and Verde immediately followed suite, performing the exact same flying methods to both gain lift and to ascend. Alberto, who had since risen some ten or so feet into the air, quickly spotted a wide opening in the canopy, surrounded by an array of several different layers of leaves borne by more murumuru trees.

Within about five more seconds, Alberto kept tilting the back ends of his wings upward until he now simply hovered in the air, with both his body and neck aligned in the same way it would be when standing. Once this action was achieved, he forcefully slammed down on the air with his wings continuously as he was now directly below the opening in the canopy.

He kept this up until he was about two feet below the opening of light blue and white, and pressed his wings against his body, twirling up in the air with pure elegance and precision, finally ascending past the surface of the canopy. Once he had ascended another twenty odd feet upward, he once again tilted his body forward in a streamline position, resuming his normal flight procedures.

Eduardo and then Verde soon performed this as well, albeit they did not at all twirl in the air once they reached the surface of the canopy. Alberto slowed down for a brief period, allowing the other two birds to catch up to him. Following the second Eduardo and Verde had flown around twenty feet, only behind Alberto by some four additional feet, Alberto continued flying at his usual cruising speed.

Alberto then proceeded to crane his neck backward, facing both Eduardo and Verde, shouting with a surprising amount of glee in his voice, which was obviously his attempt at adhering to Eduardo's wish of acting pleasant, yet it felt so natural that Eduardo himself was convinced Alberto was genuinely relieved when he finally spoke without any seriousness. "Alrighty men, I order that we now fly in a V-formation until we get to the Mouth itself. For the time being, whoever gets to the Great Mouth last is jaguar bait!"

At the finishing bit of humor, Verde smiled, and even Eduardo couldn't resist cracking a wide grin along his beak. Afterward, all three birds immediately carried on flying. Eduardo and Verde flew in opposite directions several feet behind Alberto, until they were once again in the same horizontal position they had been flying in thus far.

However, Alberto soon began flying at a faster pace, and Eduardo and Verde in response, corresponding with him to perform a simple flight technique, both slightly rotated the front ends of their shoulders forward to increase drag for several seconds, then proceeding to rotate their shoulders backward to their original position, now aligned with the rest of their bodies.

Now, both Eduardo and Verde were two feet or so offset from Alberto to the left and right respectively, and both birds were now behind Alberto by about three feet. From an ascending aerial view, this flight formation prolific throughout most avian species resembled the distinct shape of the letter V, hence its nickname, the "V-formation," by virtually all of the Macaw Tribes.

On occasion, this technique was also referred to as the "bridge arch," by visiting city birds, as a reference to the massive arches present along the world-famous Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge in Brasília, the Brazilian federal capital.

Seconds after the V-shape had been successfully formed, the three macaws propelled themselves forward, advancing through the air at great speed. As they pressed onward, they continuously twisted and turned in the air with elegance joyously, now that there were no longer any obstacles that surrounded them.

"Hey, guys, if my memory is correct, I think that we'll reach the Great Mouth in about fifteen minutes if we're able to maintain a high cruising speed!" Alberto called with a completely sincere tone of happiness, although it was still obvious that he was still weary of the potential consequences if he was caught due to the somewhat worried look he presented.

"Splendid!" Eduardo laughed happily, in both genuine joy and to up Alberto's spirits, which indeed worked as he intended. "Absolutely splendid! We'll still have plenty of time to spare!"

"Well, come on, keep on flying like the wind, it's not like we've got all day!" Alberto responded, rapidly surpassing tree after tree that stood below him in the canopy.

At the sheer friendliness between Eduardo and Alberto, it was truly remarkable how hostile and capricious the two had behaved towards one another just over twenty minutes prior. Now that the two were in flight together in the open air, speaking in friendly tones to one another, it was as if none of the conflict between the two birds had even happened to begin with.

After that unusually-charming moment between the three birds, another three minutes soon came to gradually pass, although to Eduardo, it felt far longer. To Alberto and Verde, each minute surpassed felt far shorter than in actual time.

Besides the constant shifts in elevation in the air relative to the canopy to conceal the macaws' position from any possible sentries, ranging from one-hundred feet, to twenty feet, and finally to thirty feet, there were numerous encounters with several other Spix's Macaws, including three male and two female adults, along with one male chick that seemed to still struggle with the act of flight, in large part due to the fact that his head was larger than his tiny wings covered in bristled down feathers. At this, it was quite obvious that the chick was no more than several months old.

Another interesting sight along the way included a golden conure of slim stature, also bearing a large, curved beak and emerald-green eyes, flying past them some forty odd feet westward. These birds were a common sight within the boundaries of the Spix's Macaw Tribe, as the golden conures themselves didn't yet possess a unified Tribe of their own, although very small communities of golden conures living throughout the jungle, often inhabiting cashapona trees were quite prevalent.

Throughout the ages, they had even been considered by nearly all of the past Patriarchs as a sort of minority group, thus their communities were given limited protection by several warrior detachments consisting of about twenty men each, from various different predators lurking within the rainforest, including jaguars, snakes, crocodiles, and even bull sharks in some areas of the Amazon Basin. Even so, they were not at all considered members of the Tribe, and described as "nomad birds," by the Tribe's members, as for every species of bird that did not bear cerulean, teal, and turquoise plumage.

After the sight of the golden conure, a rather limited number of other birds were encountered for the next several moments, comprising of another seven Spix's Macaws, all of which were quite young, most likely standing at about three or four years of age. Soon, a group of three young females gossiping to one another was spotted, and another two males flew past them as well. Fortunately, none of the other macaws that had so far been encountered happened to be any of César's guards or otherwise security personnel.

Another several moments steadily came and went, and it now seemed to all three of the birds that each incoming moment passed slower than the walking pace of a sloth. With each cycle of flapping their wings upward, and then forcing them downward upon the air, boredom embedded into their minds relatively quickly, although Alberto knew that they were not at all far from the Great Mouth at this rate.

Over time, as the three macaws kept flying ahead, a combination of various pitches and tones of squawking grew progressively more apparent throughout the air. At first, the sound remained at a relatively quiet level, despite the fact that so many birds seemed to be screeching over each other at once.

Eventually, after the passing of another full minute, the sound had now developed to immense levels. It was now clearly heard across the entire rainforest from every angle. It was now clear that the noise was coming from a crowd of macaws, and they would be in sight very shortly. Then, after the sound had remained at a consistent level for several moments, the calls grew even louder. Alberto then gave several commands to the others behind him in a rather loud voice, still looking forward and only forward.

"Guys, to get prepping for the massive crowd up ahead, I suggest we fly around it as best we can! Keep in mind, with an approaching crowd this noisy, it's likely that its size will be quite remarkable, especially since everybody's rushing to get ahold of some food right now! Also, if we are to reach the Great Mouth within several minutes, we're going to have to pick up the pace! We might as well catch a taste of the morning breeze! Speed up by an additional two kilometers per hour. When the crowd finally comes into full view, we must turn around them. Understood?" 

"Wait, I thought that our plan was to stay hidden within the crowd!" Eduardo exclaimed with sharp hints of both anger and startled nature in his voice, with both his eyes and eyebrows raised in confusion.

"You need not worry, I just now remembered that three of the four sentry battalions are actually situated on the forest floor around the Great Mouth, except for the few trees that the circumference of the Great Mouth is comprised of," Alberto replied calmly, despite the tone of Eduardo's voice. "I heard where they were going to be located based on a report coming from one of my men, Ornelas, who said that your father's top general, Mar, gave him the information. The last battalion of which, I know, is now stationed in the Banana Grove. I guess I forgot about that! Keep in mind though, again -"

"I know, I know, Alberto, if you see a single sentry, you'll dash off and hide within the foliage of the canopy that stands below us, I get it," Eduardo sighed, whilst forcing himself to not roll his eyes as he spoke. Even so, Eduardo was not yet in any sort of negative mood, although he felt within himself that all the good feelings that had recently come about would soon fade, but time would tell, he thought.

"Well said!" Alberto responded quickly, before resuming giving orders. "Okay, so with all of that in mind, we'll retreat if we see any little speck of blue apart from the crowd, whether located downward, forward, sideways, or upward. Nonetheless, we'll turn around the group so that we aren't slowed down significantly. Understood?"

"Understood!" Verde and Eduardo shouted in unison, the both birds also starring straight ahead, before proceeding to flap their wings up and down at an even faster rate than before. Immediately afterward, Alberto began to do the same. Now, all the birds were currently flying at a speed of approximately fifty miles per hour.

Above the macaws, the whistling wind lightly brushed their head feathers, and below them, the same wind lightly gusted through the many thick, yet slim feathers that covered their abdomens. No other macaws were yet to be seen, although Alberto knew full well that their advancement through the air wouldn't last much longer. The hoarse calls of the crowd only continued to worsen, and at an abrupt moment, the sound surrounded them almost as much as they were surrounded by the sky.

It was shortly afterward when finally, a large blue dot came into view, at some six-hundred feet ahead. As the macaws kept flying forward, the dot seemed to grow larger and larger. Alberto knew that this supposed blue dot at a far distance was the crowd in question producing all the raspy calls and unpleasant amount of squawking. Eduardo and Verde could also clearly see that this strange object of cerulean was essentially an enormous cloud of blue birds flying about.

Following the further advancement of the macaws through the air by another sixty feet or so, Alberto gave further directions, still maintaining his focus forward, although his green eyes rolled downward, staring at the treetops that were situated beneath him as he continued his flight course. Then, one distinctive tree could be seen ahead that bore a large, crooked shape that was clearly visible, even from an aerial view.

This was helped by the fact that the sunlight that penetrated through the canopy was currently fixed upon the branch. Alberto remembered this specific tree as a landmark of the Great Mouth. He called to the others in a rather friendly, yet superfluously loud manner to make sure they could hear him despite the sound coming from the crowd up ahead. "Guys, I think we've now arrived at the Seventeenth Column!"

"Well, that's good!" Eduardo responded happily, sporting a pleasant facial expression. Alberto soon resumed speaking, giving more orders as he continued flying several inches forward of the other two birds.

"With that, I think it's best for all of us to be on our guard at all times! I'll look ahead and upward! Eduardo, you observe both sides, and Verde, look downward and backward. Are my orders clear?"

"Aye!" Verde replied. Soon afterward, as they grew closer and closer to the enormous crowd that lied directly ahead, it became increasingly more apparent just how many macaws the large cloud of blue was comprised of. Another minute went by, and now, Alberto could now mentally count how many birds flew many feet before him.

The soft and soothing air gusted through the three bird's feathers, the sensation of coolness bringing relief and sighs of happiness to all three of them. Whilst the macaws caught the breeze, Eduardo and Alberto laughed merrily and Verde chuckled hardily. The group continued advancing by wing until only about a seventy foot-distance remained between them and the cloud of blue.

The enormous crowd that lied ahead, now clearly seen, resembled the shape of a large circular cloud of blue, the cloud itself while being circular, also bore a large, pointed "spike" of macaws at the front end, and several lower rows of these parallel, vertical formations continued downward from that point of the crowd and on. Most of the macaws who made up the circle were not organized together in any way, as most them were flying in conflicting directions.

One layer of macaws that flew against one another, and another layer of birds, (barely visible from Alberto's position) flew in the opposite direction of the first layer, thus creating little more than an airborne sea of cerulean plagued with endless quarreling and chaotic screeching. Alberto estimated that the first layer alone comprised of no less than one-hundred or so macaws, and he could only assume the second layer of the cloud was slightly thinner in numbers of birds that it consisted of.

Even from this far away, Verde could clearly see multiple birds of various sizes ramming into one another, especially within the second layer. This was a common measure utilized throughout the crowd to even simply permit the macaws forward, as dozens of other macaws flew toward them, colliding into them constantly.

Whilst the crowd of Spix's Macaws kept their steady approach, Alberto, Eduardo, and Verde all carefully observed every direction possible in search of any guards. Luckily, there were none yet present, or at least none yet that were in view. It was immediately afterward when Alberto then screamed the command to turn around at the top of his lungs, as the approaching crowd was now so loud that it was nearly impossible to understand any conversation amongst themselves otherwise.

"Men, TURN RIGHT! FORTY-FIVE DEGREES!" As he gave the command, Alberto now positioned his left wing upward and his right wing downward, now turning right, and it was very shortly after when the two other macaws flying behind him followed suite. Eduardo and Verde, while turning, carefully coordinated their exact position in the air, making sure they were turning at a forty-five-degree angle from the crowd's position, yet at the same time, they still managed to maintain their V-formation.

As the three birds had begun turning, they were now at a distance from the cloud of blue feathers of about eighty feet, and due to the immense sound, that continued to spout beside them, passing by the crowd was quite uncomfortable to say the least.

This was not helped by the fact that several more layers of macaws within the cloud swirled around in the air, forming what now looked like a ring encircling the blue cloud, and birds from every angle of the cloud began to fly in the group's direction, just to move.

The three macaws were very weary of anyone who dared come into view, although since Alberto knew just about every one of César's guards very well, it would be quite easy to spot a sentry, and so far, he did not catch sight of any. For the next several moments, while turning around the cloud comprised of blue, while it was certainly an easy task to simply turn around from where the crowd's position was, it was quite difficult for the group to avoid colliding into other Spix's Macaws that sprang from the crowd.

Alberto had to duck his head at least once, Eduardo had to dive some three times, at one point dodging an incoming family of three birds that were quite tall in stature, and Verde was hit once by a middle-aged female who had simply not cared to pay attention to what lied ahead of her flight path.

Several more moments gradually passed, and during this time, due to the intensely-loud squawking of the combined hundreds of macaws that flew some sixty odd feet beside them, all three members of the group couldn't help but wince at the sound of nearly ever shout from the crowd. For far shorter than it seemed, the macaws finally made their way around the cloud of blue, and eventually, what soon came into view following the crowd's passing was to the eyes, truly remarkable.

It was an enormous ring-shaped pit of hardened dirt situated some five feet deep within the ground, neatly encircled along the edge of its circumference within the inside with many large stones of numerous sizes and diameters. All these stones that encircled the inside of the pit acted as "seats," for council members. The pit itself, Alberto estimated to be at least two-hundred feet in diameter. It was clearly visible from the air, as no trees lied within the pit, allowing just as large an opening within the canopy of the rainforest as in the ground by the pit.

On top of the many dozens of stones that were present for holding meetings within the Tribe, one tall boulder of about five feet in height and a foot or so in diameter stood in the center, surrounded by the stone seats. This boulder was intended for the seating of the Patriarch himself.

It was also nicknamed the "Stone of the First Patriarch" by a great many macaws, as Jacinto I, the first Patriarch of the Spix's Macaw Tribe, had been the primary sponsor of transferring the boulder from an abandoned cave infested with many vampire bats to the pit itself. However, hundreds of years of gradual weathering had begun eating away at the boulder, and thus, it was quite apparent to the eyes of how old it was, due to much of the wear and tear present along the surface of the boulder.

Surrounding the pit was a vast assortment of murumuru trees, all of which were quite tall, yet slim in stature. Branches protruded from every angle of some of the trees, and some of the trees possessed hardly any branches whatsoever. Now coming in to view stood a flock of around one-hundred macaws around the pit above their respective seats, all the macaws of whom were of aristocratic or elder status.

Obviously, the meeting had not yet even begun, as if it had, the Patriarch would certainly be present, standing on top of the boulder, and the council members would all be seated, rather than standing along the circumference of the pit. As Eduarda tended to accompany César at most of the council meetings he often held, Alberto immediately assumed she was currently absent as well.

This pit was known by many names, including the Magnificent Pit of Jacinto I, the Mouth of the First Patriarch, and the Meeting Ring. However, it's most common name, coined by its sponsor, Jacinto I, was in fact, the Great Mouth. Alberto immediately followed by calling out to the other two birds, as they still gracefully flew about forty feet from above the highest trees of the canopy.

"We're here!" At the sudden and immediate signal that the group had finally reached their destination, Eduardo immediately shifted his neck downward, his pale-green eyes widening into the shape of large spheres. Verde did the same, and following this, Alberto gave another brief command. "Fly downward as quick as lightning, men! We don't want to get caught by sentries, now do we? Do we?"

"No indeed, understood!" Verde swiftly replied. Alberto then proceeded to make a sharp turn to the left, his companions soon following behind him within only about two seconds. Once Eduardo and Verde had fully caught up to him, Alberto continued flying forward by another thirty feet, now some ten feet away from flying directly above the center of the Great Mouth itself.

He gradually rose upward, whilst staring at both the inside of the Mouth and the canopy of the jungle for any guards every now and again, and soon after reaching a height of an additional forty or so feet in the air, he performed a complicated loop in the air, and then plummeted downward into the direction of the canopy, in a very similar fashion to an old dive bomber.

After another five odd seconds, Alberto spotted a small opening in the canopy, then forcing the air around him upwards with heavy strokes of his wings, whilst continuing to dive downward until he had completely penetrated through the canopy and had disappeared.

As Eduardo and Verde did the same, Alberto while now beneath the cooling shade of the treetops continued flying forward, while also observing every creature that lied ahead. He then looked eastward, and turned, then spotting a perfect branch of broad appearance and long length, of which belonged to another murumuru tree, and a rather tall one at that.

This tree bore many arrays of foliage and vines wrapped around its branches, dangling several inches forward. To Alberto especially, this branch would be ideal for the act of eavesdropping. He proceeded to propel himself forward with a very brief burst of speed, and once he had reached the branch, he firmly locked his talons around it, and after landing, he stood still for a couple of seconds to maintain his balance, and after this, he very slowly and carefully shifted forward along the branch, inch by inch so that the noise level produced by his moving feet was kept at a minimum.

It was shortly thereafter when the latter two Spix's Macaws arrived at the branch as well, Eduardo landing first and standing directly behind Alberto, while Verde landed last and stood behind Eduardo. From here, the Great Mouth, now in open view, was empty, the council members still present along the circumference of the Mouth. No sentries were yet to be seen in any direction no matter where the macaws looked, and not a single council member spotted the group, although this was likely due to the masses of foliage that stood in front of the branch, concealing the group from view.

For the next several moments, Eduardo kept leaning progressively forward, and Verde began blinking rapidly as he stood, then taking the time to stare down at the forest floor, looking for any arriving sentries, although fortunately, there were none. As well as the many vines and other pieces of foliage that protected the group from being spotted, a neat assortment of several nuts and fruits dangled from the branches around them, and tiny particles of water from some of the top canopy leaves trickled down, fell through the air, and presented to Verde a cooling sensation as they landed on the top of his head and neck feathers.

Just another moment passed, and now, everything throughout the rainforest save for the remnants of squawking from the crowd far away came to a standstill, no sound being made. Just several seconds afterward, one male Spix's Macaw sentry whose name was remembered by Alberto as Tacito, bearing a pair of medium-sized blue eyes and an array of flattened crest feathers, swooped down into the Great Mouth, then landing on the boulder, saying the introduction to the meeting, whilst bearing a charming, warm smile on his beak as he spoke. "To all council members, I present Patriarch César the Third!"

And with that, clapping and applause erupted from the many macaws that stood at the Great Mouth. The three birds, now ducking behind the foliage, gulped hard and slowly.

 _ **Author's Fact of the Day:**_

 _ **Since 2011, six official and many more unofficial video games have been based off the Rio films, nearly all of them of which were released on the iOS.**_


	5. Troubling Conversations

Chapter 5 - Troubling Conversations

Eduardo, after gulping hard and then proceeding to cough into his wing, decided that the back of Alberto's blue-feathered head obstructed his view of the Great Mouth far too greatly, and looking around him wouldn't fare much better, as all around him except for straight ahead was foliage.

Thus, he decided to rise some two or three inches in the air whilst still standing along the branch by keeping his balance on his toes and talons, which was quite a risky activity to say the least. After all, Eduardo falling off the branch, or even slipping and using his wings to fly back up would by this point, end his entire plan in nothing but catastrophe.

Just seconds later, he decided to lower down, back to his original standing position, and instead turned his head slightly to the right, now directly behind Alberto's shoulder, so he could now clearly see the Great Mouth in all its glory.

The moment he began focusing on what lied ahead in the Mouth, Tacito, the meeting's presenter, swiftly took off from the boulder, his talons nearly scraping its rough surface as he launched, propelling himself forward, and then ascending almost instantaneously, forming a continuously circular flight pattern around the Great Mouth, whilst twirling in circles through the air at such a fast rate that one keeping their eyes on any one part of him would be an utmost difficult task at best.

Alberto knew very well this was simply a performance of sorts to delight the surrounding council members. Alberto, now felt almost a bit envious, as even he had to admit in his mind that Tacito's flight twirling was slightly more impressive than his of all birds.

Not surprisingly, many of the council members had their necks craned upwards and their eyes fixed on him in in awe, their eyes also bright with longing for such extraordinary flight skills, and many of them continued clapping, giving the sentry a great applause. One female council member even cheered briefly.

Eduardo simply didn't even know how to react to this bird's magnificent flight skills, as unlike the bird that stood in front of him, he did not know his name, nor did he know exactly what his exact purpose was for the meeting. Verde then looked over Eduardo's shoulder, his line of sight also passing through Alberto's shoulder.

He was certainly impressed with Tacito's flight skills, although he too did not know his name. However, at least several times, to avoid being spotted, all three members of the group on occasion leaned forward and ducked their heads immediately under the vast umbrellas of foliage that stood above their heads, sometimes just barely being hidden enough to stay hidden from the passing macaw.

Several moments later, Tacito put an abrupt halt to his dazzling performance by stopping his spinning in mid-air, his head turned upward and his chest facing inward towards the Mouth as he did, and then proceeded to shoot upward from where he was positioned in the air. He was now completely out of sight.

The clapping amongst the council members gradually faded, and soon, all fell into silence. Then, only seconds later, the flapping of wings could clearly be heard throughout the air, and it was not long afterward when two large shadows passed over the Great Mouth, the first shadow of which then passing slightly ahead of the other, and the first of which then coming into contact with the boulder.

The Spix's Macaw Matriarch, Eduarda, quickly dived down from the air, and was now clearly visible to the group who still stood hidden amongst the dense foliage. She then tilted upward and carefully landed on the northern end of the circumference of the Great Mouth, joining the other council members, standing behind another stone "seat," that stood below her in the Great Mouth.

Shortly thereafter, a large, broad-shouldered and quite tall male Spix's Macaw bearing light blue feathers and a hooked, eagle-like beak swooped downward towards the Great Mouth, then using a great burst of speed, flying westward, and then turning around, proceeding to quickly land on the boulder, his talons firmly grasping its surface.

César then looked upward, his wings now tucking into the sides of his body as his voice boomed across the entire area. "Is everyone present?" The entire council members nodded in response. César was presently surprised at this and looked all around him to inspect every single seat, to make sure there was one macaw above that seat. A moment later, he sighed, giving another brief order. "Please be seated."

With that, all of the council members then ascended slightly upward into the air using their wings, flying several inches forward, and then descended downward, all landing on their respective seats of which they all stood behind just seconds earlier. César smiled at this, then beginning his usual introductory speech that he usually performed at most of his council meetings.

After this, Alberto sighed heavily, and following the next several sentences of César's opening speech, he craned his neck backward, his talons now reaching over to where Eduardo stood, pushing his feet forward as he grasped the backward end of the branch. Then, after grabbing onto Eduardo's shoulder, he forced himself backward, his other foot carefully landing on the same branch. At this strange move, Eduardo sported a rather confused facial expression.

"What?" he whispered, his head turning back to Alberto, who's pair of emerald-green eyes had considerably widened as Eduardo turned his head back to face him.

"Well, Eduardo, it looks like we accomplished the mission you assigned to us, we did exactly what you asked us, nothing more, nothing less," Alberto answered, shrugging his shoulders. He then took another good look at César and then faced Eduardo, tapping his left foot on the branch with his wings folded.

"So?" Eduardo replied, still not fully understanding what Alberto meant by this.

"We have fulfilled our orders, aren't you going to go and eavesdrop?" Alberto asked, the expression on his beak now bearing some sense of nervousness.

"Wait, _me_?" Eduardo questioned in a surprised tone. "I thought you guys would sneak with me around the Great Mouth, listening to the meeting! Since this meeting is about you screwing up something, I thought that you would undoubtedly want to listen to it!"

"I am sorry, but I, Alberto Guava, just lead you to the Great Mouth, nothing more, and with nothing less, just as you ordered us," Alberto said. "We abided your orders word for word. You didn't ask us to _help_ you eavesdrop or anything. You should've thought about that I guess. Now that I've paid my services to you, either we fly away or off you go!"

"Alberto, you're just going to leave me here? What happened to us being friends? What happened to you offering your services to me? What, indeed changed, my friend?"

"I'm not diminishing our friendship whatsoever, I simply did exactly what you asked me to do. Isn't that loyal or what? Besides, I really can't afford to tick off César again, let alone twice within a single day. I may think César does in fact bear a very cold-hearted personality, and there are many elements of his nature I do indeed detest greatly, but, I've been thinking long and hard since we left the hollow, and ultimately, I've concluded that I will not betray the closest thing I've ever had in my life to a father-figure!"

"Look, Alberto, I can assure your feelings of apprehension are just a phase!" Eduardo protested, bearing a tone of harshness in his voice, although it was only about a second later when he attempted to boast a smile on his beak to persuade Alberto that no risks were being taken. However, this did not work in the slightest, as Alberto kept speaking, and in a much more hostile tone than before.

"Do you by God's name even have the capacity within your mind to comprehend the enormous risks I'm taking by simply lingering here needlessly? Me and Costa are to be married in April, and if I displease César again, especially after what happened earlier this morning, he'll likely deny our relationship as mates. You understand now, by any chance?"

At this, Eduardo's facial expression radically transformed from a rather obviously-forced smile to a stricken, uncomfortable look. At first, in response to Alberto voicing his true opinions towards him, he thought long and hard of any potentially offensive insults to hurl at him, but he found none in his mind at the moment, all the while Alberto continued, now speaking in an increasingly-angered voice.

Currently, as this was going on, Verde remained silent, his head, neck, wing, and chest feathers spiked up in nothing but uneasiness, and his eyes were now barely any larger than Brazil nuts.

"Eduardo, you have to understand that you are the heir to the Patriarch, and if you get in trouble, at worst, you'll probably be grounded, but for me, that is a whole different story. I've worked hard every single day here ever since I met Costa, and with all my hard work, I was hoping I'd be rewarded with a month-long-leave so that me and her can achieve our dream of traveling all the way to the island Trinidad in celebration of the event. I've always visualized the image of the two of us, standing beneath the swaying palm trees during a calm balmy night. Can you imagine that?"

"Alberto, I order you to stay here!" Eduardo snarled back. "Even if you get caught, you two can still be together in exile and hang up there, and you can do whatever you want!"

"Sure, more realistically, I'd almost certainly be one of those outcasted macaws living in Pará, bumbling around with berries in my talons, touting to other passing birds they are "covered in exotic ingredients" and a whole bunch of other pure nonsense! Good riddance, but since we have had a long history together, I'm still inviting you to attend my wedding! Come on, Verde! _Tcheau!_ "

After Alberto had completed the slow and gradual cycle of turning around on the branch while making as little noise as he possibly could, Eduardo turned his head over, facing the Great Mouth for two or three seconds, before turning his head back to face Alberto. Almost within the blink of an eye, both he and Verde had completely disappeared.

Eduardo then immediately assumed that the two of them had must of flown southward and taken a sharp turn to either the left or the right beneath the surface of the canopy of the rainforest. He couldn't imagine the two ever making it up past the canopy itself at this rate, as they would've surely been caught.

After this, Eduardo hung his head, almost saddened, yet at the same time, he felt nothing but vile hatred within his mind. However, he knew deep in his heart that Alberto had been perfectly reasonable with him, and what was more obvious was that Alberto seemingly abandoning him was about the least of his concerns at the moment.

He turned his head forward again, standing up straight, and keeping his guard. His eyes soon traced from César, to Eduarda, and then to the rest of the council members. From this distance, while Eduardo could certainly see César (whom of which was still in the middle of his opening speech) from this position, it was quite difficult to see the other members of the council, even including those who sat at the northern end of the Great Mouth, as they were too far away to make out their appearance.

Eduardo, naturally filled with curiosity, wondered who else could possibly be involved with a secret council meeting taking place in broad daylight. While he did recognize several of the elders throughout the Mouth from past experiences, even knowing some of their names, he did not recognize any of the aristocrats that were present.

He only knew one aristocrat, named Henrique, and even he was not at all in sight. In order to actually see who was present at the council, Eduardo knew it would be inevitable that he would have to alternate between several positions from time to time. At first, he thought to himself that it would be unnecessary to perform such a risky task of flying amongst the trees around the circular pattern of the Great Mouth.

However, after several moments had passed, he ultimately decided that since there were not any sentries yet present, they would surely be deployed in mass throughout the Mouth's surrounding jungle at some point or another, and from then on, it would only be a matter of time before one wrong move would land Eduardo into massive trouble if he happened to be spotted. Now, it was not only quite clear to him that it was certainly worth the risk, but he also realized that standing in one spot would absolutely prove to be detrimental.

Eduardo, after deciding what he was to do while the council meeting took place, diminished his former feelings of anxiety relatively quickly, and gave a heavy sigh. Now, he planned that once César was finally finished giving his opening speech, he would immediately be in search for another tree at a very short distance, and that while doing this, he would need to glide to avoid making any noise that would more likely than not, reveal his position to the entire council.

For the next several minutes, César continued speaking, and not yet had any of the other members of the council spoken aloud or had been spoken to. Boredom had not yet settled into Eduardo's mind as he had never heard one of his father's council speeches before, although he was almost certain the council members were bored out of their minds, as he thought that they had probably heard this speech many times before.

Finally, after another two minutes had passed, César put an abrupt end to his speech, taking a long pause at some of the last few sentences, and then finishing with the last sentence. He then paused again, folding his wings across his chest and looking outward, then speaking to the crowd once more. "Are there any immediate statements to be made before I begin delving into the primary issue at hand?"

"My Patriarch, I heard recently that this one middle-aged macaw died of yellow fever several days ago!" responded one of the older council members. There were no replies towards the older macaw, and silence once again swept over the council, leading César to finally begin speaking about the issue concerning the council.

"Alright, now, I would like to discuss a very, very serious matter that not only concerns me, but it should concern us all, especially those of you present that are rather faint-hearted, to put it lightly." As he spoke, the tone of which César used to speak was quite serious, and although Eduardo did not know this, César in the event of a council meeting usually spoke in a smooth, yet deep voice, making this tone of voice rather unusual.

Eduardo, still observing from his original position, decided that he would have to eavesdrop from another tree very shortly. It would only be a matter of time before he would hear the approaching guards surround the jungle. Eduardo looked around for a moment following this, and soon enough, he spotted one tree to the right, some ten feet away, bearing a rather small, yet sturdy-looking branch that protruded inward, towards him.

As a precautionary measure, he turned his head to the left, his eyes scanning the amount of foliage that extended outward, observing whether or not the amount of foliage present would be sufficient enough to properly conceal him gliding from tree to tree. Overall, the foliage that spanned outward looked dense enough for the job.

Once Eduardo finished deciding on exactly how he would glide over to the branch as quietly as possible, he slowly turned his standing position on the branch from straight ahead to the right, and following this action, he leaned forward and used all of the strength he could muster within his leg muscles to launch upward, his wings then extending straight out, the wind then slowly drifting him forward until he raised his feet at the sight of the branch, and locked his talons around it, then finally pushing his body upward, now standing straight on this new branch.

Luckily, this tree along with its branches were very densely covered by foliage as well. The only drawback to this was that it would now be somewhat difficult for Eduardo to properly see the council. He concluded that he would have to move to another branch shortly afterward, but he would continue to stay put as he was, or at least until the council touched upon another important subject. From here, Eduardo leaned forward again, one of his pale-green eyes peering out into the council whilst staying hidden by the leaves save for the tiny crevices here and there that allowed him to see.

While Eduardo had made some major adjustments to his current position, César continued speaking to the council, the tone in his voice growing somewhat softer, although the manner in which he spoke progressively grew ever the more serious. In an attempt to sooth him, Matriarch Eduarda could be seen giving an encouraging smile to her mate, whilst her smooth, feathered cheeks shined a lush shade of pink, although César, now currently preoccupied with speaking to the council, hardly noticed and failed to even let out the typical sigh in response. Eduarda was not insulted by this, and simply felt disappointed at most.

"This massive issue we now have at hand, concerns my attempted food relief programs that were carried out within several regions of the Scarlet Macaw Tribe by some of the best-trained men I could possibly find. This operation that I commenced was in response to a number of instances within the past month or so of the illegitimate Patriarch Caetano of the Scarlet Tribe deliberately starving communities of birds that he believes are still loyal to the former, overthrown Patriarch José."

"Well, what's the problem that surrounds this?" one aristocratic macaw asked from the eastern end of the Great Mouth. César politely continued, whilst answering the macaw's inquiry.

"Caetano, not long thereafter, uncovered what kind of activities our men were carrying out with the help of one of his spies, and only less than a day afterward, he visited these loyalist communities, as well as others, and publicly announced it to bring false hope to the loyalists, and now, since a certain messenger of mine failed to deliver food to them, the manipulated masses of the Scarlet Tribe, I believe, will seek war against us as we, in their eyes, are now the ones responsible for their famine. I bring this issue to you all to simply alert you of a likely-approaching conflict, and I, as your Patriarch, ask of you to politely bring forth any recommendations, inquiries, or otherwise discourse on the subject we have at hand here."

Immediately after César had spoken, numerous members of the council immediately began chattering to one another, voicing their debates towards themselves and the Patriarch, although most of these voices that responded were simply either in favor of continuing the food aid program, while others were in favor of cancelling it and calling for other methods of dealing with the problem.

However, after about five minutes, Eduardo, still positioned on the same branch he had been observing from for quite a while now, decided that he would have to move to a different tree, as he knew the sentries weren't far behind, although he still couldn't hear them nor see them.

At realizing that security personnel could be lurking anywhere throughout the jungle, Eduardo immediately swung his head around from side to side, then looking at the forest floor that stood below him and followed seconds later by checking the blue sky that stood above him. At every brief moment when the council grew quiet, he would stay absolutely still, listening to any slight sounds amongst him.

He decided to give this up after about two minutes, as the only sounds that had been made apart from the council were several butterflies.

Afterward, Eduardo turned his focus to the council almost exclusively, although he was still on his guard for any movements and or noises, including those that were barely audible. As far as the council itself went during those couple of minutes, little more than vague suggestions had so far been presented, and nothing within the conversation had really advanced since Eduardo had briefly switched his focus from them to what went on around him, and to see whether he was being watched or not by sentries.

Eventually, to none of Eduardo's surprise, César grew bored and frustrated with the many usual ideas, and even still, none of these ideas were actually specific. Several minutes quickly passed from that moment onwards, and now absolutely fed up by the sheer lack of any progression within the council meeting, César swung his wing over his head in a dramatic manner and shouted. "Allow me to make a proposition!" The council became silent, and the silence continued for another few moments thereafter.

Unexpectedly, the situation radically shifted within the Great Mouth when suddenly, a raspy voice called out to the Patriarch, belonging to a very old male macaw, who possessed a body made up of a collection of ragged navy-blue feathers that oddly enough, bore a somewhat ultramarine tint to them in some areas.

Other notable features possessed by this old macaw included a pair of light-brown eyes, a thin (yet large) hooked beak, and most noticeable of all, a very distinctive set of talons that in shape, strikingly resembled the long, curvature blades of sickles.

He expressed a very stern, agitated look upon his beak, and as he spoke to César, the two separate portions of his beak just barely managed to come into contact with one another at each word spoken aloud, and his entire body was arched forward, which gave the impression to Eduardo, that this macaw had certainly experienced some unpleasant events in the past. Eduardo listened ever more intently as the elder bird spoke.

"Hah! It truly is a shame that _we_ of all the Tribes that inhabit this great Amazon are the ones who need to sit in a giant pit, arguing with one another over such a stupid mishap that was at the fault of your incompetence, César. As a strong critic of yours, I will probably regrettably admit that you are quite good as Patriarch in most aspects, but to be honest, your diplomatic policies have always ruffled my feathers. I stand here, old, yet still in possession of even the most distant memories, and I can safely say that I truly long for the days of Almir the Great, or even Jacinto the Fourth. Either one of them would have by now, provided a very fine good set of negotiations. If either one of them were still alive and well today, I'd reckon that this mess would be swiftly cleaned up, almost as soon as the problem itself took off."

"Mateo, while I do politely accept constructive criticism, right now, we are discussing with what our final decision should lie with, and also, please take the time to come up with further talking points than simply hurling nostalgia of the older Patriarchs at me," César responded to the old macaw, speaking in a somewhat bitter tone although he still acted in a somewhat friendly manner.

"Well, My Patriarch, I am afraid that everything that I have thus far said was indeed, quite rational and just, and I think that by this point, it is pretty obvious that the mistakes made that both further empowered Caetano's influence over the brainwashed populous of his Tribe and cornered us into a state of blackmail, will in turn, turn us into the laughing stock of the Amazon. The organized effort on our behalf to aid the loyalists to José which lead to this set of grave mistakes was set up by you, and only you."

"Look, while I did indeed kick off this program to start off with, ultimately, I am not at fault for this set of quite unfortunate events that have come about as a result of this program," César replied. "This whole situation abruptly took place when bad managements were made on the part of my messenger who I shall not name."

"Hmm," Mateo hummed briefly, whilst sporting a grin and his head focusing up at the clouds for a moment, before he continued to speak, his head lowering down, facing the Patriarch that stood before him. "I beg to differ."

"Oh?" César retaliated, a tone of frustration now present within his voice. "What further accusations do you, an old and probably senile bird, have against me, the heir to Almir?"

"Well, for one thing, I worked with Almir for some time, as well as his father, and I'm the only one of you still around that was an advisor of that bumbling buffoon of a Patriarch known as Luís, albeit I was a minor one at that. Now, before you keep voicing your blame towards Alberto Guava, sure, he might have made some mistakes about the management of that food gathering operation. However, who in this circle was the one who sent out this group to the specific location that they were dispatched? You. This, upon my analysis, is your fault. Honestly, if this whole situation leads to war, I will say that at least as a leader, you're worth more than Luís ever was, as you've made some beneficial territorial concessions abroad. Yet again, that idiot only ruled for four years before his demise."

All but the two arguing birds grew silent for a short time, and it seemed that César and Mateo starred daggers at one another for about ten seconds thereafter, before Mateo finally gave his reply to the mighty Patriarch of the Spix's Macaw Tribe, whilst Matriarch Eduarda expressed a frown of clearly little more than apprehension. She prayed in her mind that the council would not from this moment forth be riddled with strife as she thought it would be in possibly a matter of seconds.

César then continued to speak to Mateo, now in a much harsher tone than before, and it was clearly noticeable that his mood had been set off by this point, as a flicker of brightness arose in his irises. "Now may I, as your Patriarch be at least granted the privilege of voicing my proposition?" This time, Mateo did not give any sort of audible response, although he stared off into space for several seconds, muttering something under his breath. César could only assume that whatever he had muttered was an insult, but in his mind, he thought it would be an absolute waste of time to hurl even more insults at the old bird.

After about a minute, Mateo once again interrupted César, making another statement towards the entire council, his eyes lighting up as he spoke. "César, since you're the one who is responsible for this situation, how in God's name can you possibly expect us to trust you to be the one who's going to fix the problem, when you created the problem in the first place?"

"Shut up, Mateo!" Matriarch Eduarda wailed angrily from across the Great Mouth, leaning forward and her wings clutched around the edges of her seat. Her expression was now of little more than pure exasperation and frustration. "Shut your beak, and keep it shut until you are dismissed!" At this, seemingly everyone within the Great Mouth, (including César) either turned their heads around, or stared straight ahead, (depending on which side of the Great Mouth each council member was seated) fixing their eyes on the Matriarch for several seconds.

As a result, the Matriarch's cheeks then transformed from cerulean to a noticeable hue of bright red within seconds in embarrassment. After those several seconds passed, the entire council, in unison no less, turned their focus back to César, who then let out a heavy sigh. From that moment onward, César spoke to the council in a calm, yet still rather harsh voice.

For the next few minutes afterward, César then quickly delved into several discussions with some of the high-ranking aristocrats about a number of the Tribe's small fruit trading concessions located within the cities of Manaus and Manacapuru, as well as several other cities across both North and Northeastern Brazil, ranging from Atalaia do Norte in Amazonas, all the way to Melgaço in Pará.

Then, after another few minutes had passed, César then abruptly announced to the council that he would delay his proposition about the primary issue of possibility of standing at the brink of war after he had decided to extend the council meeting by a considerable margin.

Rather than presenting his proposition at the moment, he instead decided to spend some more time speaking to the council about numerous other issues, mostly concerning any possible border disputes with other Tribes, monitoring the activity of active predators such as jaguars and boas, and retaining an adequate supply of plants carrying medicinal properties, amongst other various topics.

Eduardo, still positioned along the same branch he had stood upon since almost the beginning of the council meeting, continued listening closely to every word that came out of his father's mouth, still praying that soon, César would eventually move on to speaking about the possible conflict. Seemingly nothing advanced past that point. Eduardo sighed, and looked around his position. No sentries were yet to be seen.

Then, suddenly, the air surrounding Eduardo grew cold as his heart jumped and his body almost sprang upward. The top layer of downy feathers across his chest puffed out in shock, and he dared not make any sudden movements, even hesitating to breath for several seconds to avoid any noise. The foliage surrounding him had rattled quietly, the sounds of ambient noises of the insects throughout the jungle now supplemented by the sound of light footsteps.

His heart rate increased dramatically, and although he attempted to still look onward at the council, he shivered where he stood, apprehensively breathing in and out constantly. Fear had swept over him as soon as the sound of footsteps grew increasingly prevalent around him.

Eventually, Eduardo coped with the shock that surrounded him and frantically turned his head from side to side, finding nothing so far. He decided that the best option was to simply glide to another tree, although doing so right now would be an incredibly detrimental idea. Instead, he looked for any other possible options, and decided the only other option that he could use to feasibly avoid detection was by leaning backward against the trunk of the tree that the branch he stood upon belonged to.

This simple action was achieved extremely slowly, (albeit silently) as Eduardo cautiously pushed a leg behind his standing position, gripping the branch and moving further backward, with one gradual step at a time. It took about thirty seconds for him to make it to the tree trunk using this method, and after he had finally arrived at the trunk of the tree, he leaned against its surface, wrapping his wings around his body and closing his green eyes.

Now, the branches and leaves that stood both above and below him shook violently, and the sound of footsteps grew ever closer. Eduardo decided to open his eyes by the time that another odd forty seconds had passed, and he turned his head to the right, after hearing an unfamiliar sharp voice coming from this direction. After finding nothing, he turned his head back again, until he heard even more approaching footsteps. He then opened his eyes once more and took a brief, hurried glimpse at the ground beneath from where he stood, expecting to find nothing once again, except that he did not this time.

He now saw a thin-bodied and tall green-eyed male sentry who bore a medium-sized hooked beak and two flipper-shaped feathers that stuck out from the back of his head, patrolling the surrounding jungle of the Great Mouth on foot. The very sight of the sentry struck Eduardo, his heart thumping inside his feathery chest and the interior of the top portion of his beak biting down onto his maroon tongue, preventing himself from gasping in fear. He then continued to observe every movement of the sentry.

The rather young-looking sentry himself then looked ahead, stepping forward, and after hearing another voice eastwards, he then began pacing around several trees, looking up their trunks and then repeating this action for the next tree that lied ahead of him. At one point, he stood still for a moment, coughing into his wing quite loudly as his eyes snapped shut and his head jolted forward. He then continued onward towards another group of trees in another direction, buying Eduardo some time to provide himself a more adequate form of staying hidden.

With this opportunity, Eduardo almost instantaneously plucked a small collection of some four or five large leaves from one of the branches that protruded just mere inches below his head, and carefully wrapped them all the way around his legs, chest, and head respectively, and then proceeded to turn both his head and his wings in the opposite direction the sentry was patrolling.

The sentry had now finished inspecting several other groups of trees, and he then turned around, approaching the tree Eduardo was hidden. Upon arrival to the base of the tree trunk, he halted once he was at a distance of about two feet away from the trunk, raising his neck upward, and then peering out into the branches of the tree.

Fortunately, as Eduardo was facing in the opposite direction of where the sentry had begun inspecting the tree, and had sufficiently concealed himself with the numerous leaves he had gathered from the branches, the sentry did not happen to catch sight of him, and after several seconds of further observation of what could be present above in the branches, the sentry decided to carry on, turning around, and stepping away.

Almost as soon as Eduardo dared breath again in an audible fashion, already tired of making his breaths so short, the sentry had then stepped out of the Great Mouth's outskirts, and then proceeded to fly up into the air without gaining much attention from the council, then approaching a group of several more sentries, presumably to provide his report of the area to the patrol captain.

Eduardo then almost trembled with relief, then making several more long and deep breaths, and then finally turned his focus back to the council who he had ignored for so long. At first, nothing notable was yet being discussed among the council save for talk of a possible trade concession to be held in Tefé, along with the planning for the formation of several new warrior detachments and several security issues taking place within the Brazil Nut Grove to the south.

Soon afterward, César then finally once again touched back on to the topic Eduardo had longed for him to speak of once again. Predictably, not long afterward, the old macaw Mateo then continued his bickering and arguing with César.

"César, please reconsider, this is _not_ our last remaining lifeline of diplomacy we still have with the Scarlet Tribe!" Mateo angrily protested, the raspy voice he possessed making these complaints sound all the more intentionally aggressive. "Your father prevented so many wars in his time! Even in the one war we did fight, we swiftly dealt with the legions upon legions of Blue-throated Macaws. If you don't believe me, I suggest you engage in some more arguments with me, since I actually fought in that war!"

Soon, out of the unpleasant mood set in the council by the two birds, whilst they spoke to numerous other council members to gain their personal opinions on the subject, a frenzy of bitterness and strife erupted in the Great Mouth. Many council members then squawked, shouted, and cursed at one another, and eventually, several even stepped up from their seats and began striking each other across both the chest and face with both their talons and their beaks.

César then waved his wing above his head again, roaring at the entire council in anger now as red as a brick. Matriarch Eduarda was now frozen, her wings clasped around her beak in horror as she looked away from the ensuing chaos that did not yet show any signs of conclusion.

Finally, after the brawling members of the council had at least quieted down considerably, César screeched into the air again, this time at the top of his lungs "SILENCE!" At this, all of the council members looked amongst themselves, and looked up to the Patriarch who still stood upon the boulder.

For the next several moments, everything now stood silent, even the ambient sounds of the jungle surrounded them rather lacking. Most of the council members now looked at each other, hanging their heads in shame and frowning, some of them who had gotten up then sitting back down. Only two council members had been subject to bodily harm during the chaotic madness that had briefly filled the Great Mouth, both of whom had sustained minor injuries to the face.

Both injured birds were quickly escorted out from the Great Mouth by several sentry healers, and afterward, followed them by wing. Mateo finally managed to stand up straight atop the stone he sat upon, whilst giving a harsh groan as César continued speaking to the council. By now, the red from César's face had since drained dramatically, and at this, he stared back at his mate, who in response, gave him an encouraging nod of approval. He then spoke with confidence, bearing a pleasant tone within his voice.

"Alright, now while my proposition to solve this problem is to provide a set of negotiations and then pray that no unfortunate conflict will follow, I will admit that I simply know nothing of conducting policy of this nature, so I am quite open to what all of you have to suggest. Remember, if we do not decide on what to enact today, then it will be likely that conflict will approach this Tribe not long after. As long as you provide your recommendations in an orderly and civilized manner, I will accept them. Discuss at once!"

It was only seconds following these words when one middle-aged macaw and a friend of César, as well one of the chief leaders of the Tribe's "army" (numerous pacts of armed warriors) bearing the name Mar Cão then spoke to César in a friendly manner. "My Patriarch, may I propose that we simply provide the José loyalists with more food from the Brazil Nut Grove? After all, sending a group of men over to Pará to gather food would be pointless, as by the time they were to return, conflict would probably already commence anyway."

"I'm sorry to break it to you, but Caetano probably already suspects us gathering more food to maintain the loyalists' positive opinion of us, and keep in mind, if he managed to overthrow his brother, he most certainly isn't lacking a considerable amount of intelligence," one slightly younger council member named Dinis argued. "I believe isolating ourselves from their problems and situating a great number of men along our borders to hold off any possible attacks would be a good solution."

"Well, I think that while your suggestion would prove detrimental in the long term as the Scarlet's legions could easily penetrate our border defenses, that isn't such a bad solution, as long as we are able to maintain high-quality fighters who will be ready for any inevitable assault," Mateo then said abruptly, returning to the conversation.

After several more proposals were made towards the Patriarch and towards other council numerous members, César then managed to muster the will within himself another plan that could potentially gain support amongst the majority of the other council members.

"I, as your Patriarch propose that we wait patiently for the Scarlets to formally declare that they wish to fight us, and soon afterward, we shall secretly gather almost all of our forces available, and when the Scarlets least expect it, we shall make a mad charge across the east of the Amazon Basin to the far south, then overwhelm any defenses in the area, and penetrate deep into the heart of their Tribe! Once we reach the old flower beds belonging to the Vermelho Family, we'll take down Caetano and reinstall José."

Of course, after César had outlined his plan, it would only seem nature that he would be met with criticism from Mateo, who now at least spoke in a much more civilized manner now absent of any unnecessary insults. "César, that plan would be quite frankly excellent, if we didn't have only a quarter of their total population. Not to mention, I've heard numerous rumors circulating around that have come up fairly recently about the Scarlets not so long ago, managing to come across at least a few pieces of human hardware, including weaponry, and no, I do not speak of spears, nor blades; I speak of other weapons humans possess, albeit they are rarely seen in use by any humans I have witnessed."

"Mateo, please, do you honestly believe that the Scarlets somehow managed to vanquish humans, let alone disarm them and take their fighting tools as prizes? The truth be told that I as a Patriarch don't rule upon the basis of rumors, nor do I believe in such an absurdity. I rule upon the basis of logic and common sense alone, and I command an army of macaws who do not fear falsehoods and go through some very fine training procedures if you ask me. Now that I am finished with you, I will now ask of the final verdict decided by this council. If you support my proposal, raise your wing!"

The air was now tense from that moment forth, as Eduardo's heart then grew almost cold out of shock of what he witnessed before his eyes. Out of the entire council of exactly ninety-eight macaws, (not including the other two had left for medical treatment) fifty-two had slowly raised their wings up high, while the remaining forty-six simply stayed seated, some of whom were speechless, and two had even broken out into tears.

Upon César looking around the council and then afterward sporting a confident grin on his beak, the macaws who had voted for his plan lowered their wings, although still as silent as a grave. Eventually, one of the council members who had not risen their wing began angrily shouting at the Patriarch, although this one macaw's insults were cut short by his constant stuttering at the mere shock of what had been decided, thus he gave up and sat back down just seconds afterward.

"You are all dismissed," César then said abruptly, before proceeding to fly away to the east. After that moment had passed, Eduardo stood on the branch, truly numb at the decision that had just been made, still praying that of all of this was simply a dream. But it was certainly not, and he accepted it as such. He then slowly turned around from where he stood and flew westward, while still beneath the canopy of the jungle. He now decided while in mid-flight that he would stop at the Açaí Grove and rest.

 _ **Author's Fact of the Day:**_

 _ **Jewel's name in the Russian versions of the films appears as "Zhemchuzhinka," literally translating to the name "Pearl" in the English language.**_


	6. Mishaps and Guilt

Chapter 6 - Mishaps and Guilt

As the gorgeous cerulean hue belonging to the sky that stood above all things throughout the Brazilian Amazon started waning as the late afternoon began taking its toll, Eduardo now flew about on his own, flying at a moderately fast cruising speed beneath the surface of the green, leafy canopy, within a very sparsely-populated collection of miscellaneous tree columns that despite its lack of many macaws, was absolutely abundant with a wide variety of vegetation, amongst numerous other plant species.

His current flight position was at just over a third-of-a-mile's distance to the west from where he had concealed himself within the Great Mouth's surrounding jungle, eavesdropping on the council meeting that had recently taken place. Several hours had passed since Eduardo had exited from his position where he had eavesdropped on the council, then carrying the intention of reaching the Açaí Grove to take a brief rest and then return home to his sister and parents.

However, almost immediately after he had begun his flight to the Açaí Grove once all of the council members had left the area and had returned to their residences, a sensation of thirst had swept over him, and as a result, he had turned to the east some five minutes after he had taken off, making what he thought would be a quick stop to the rather small Agua Waterfall.

He could now recall that upon arrival to the Agua, landing on the rough forest floor that surrounded the thin, shallow stream that stood before the waterfall itself, he had quickly made his way on foot to the stream. Almost immediately after he had made his approach to the stream, he had then bent forward and quickly drank entire mouthfuls of water, some droplets of water even managing to escape the walls of his beak and trickling down his neck feathers.

Following this, he had carefully stepped into the stream, preening himself for about six minutes or so, before carrying on and meandering around aimlessly on foot. He had then laid down onto the ground, staring up at the clouds that floated thousands of feet above him, and intended to then leave several minutes afterward.

However, the more beautiful clouds that came into view and soon afterward gently whisked away, the longer Eduardo had centered his attention on the sky, and despite his plans, it did not take very long for the sensation of sleep to eventually overcome him.

By the time he had awoken, he had immediately noticed that the sun itself was far crisper in color, and its light that swept over the Brazilian Amazon had grown darker. The forest floor that surrounded him had significantly blackened, as a many shadows had since passed over it. It was very clear at this that nightfall was now imminent.

Following his awakening about half an hour ago, he had almost instantaneously resumed his original flight path, still carrying his original intentions of arriving at the Açaí Grove, although he did no longer wish to rest there, rather he now wanted to be situated there for at least an hour to simply observe the beauty of the Amazon Rainforest, before he would finally return home.

Though he felt that this decision would be most suited for his current personal interests, as he greatly desired to remove much of the stress that now firmly held its place in his mind, Eduardo knew that this decision would be met with far greater risks approaching him. He still carried the painful feelings of sheer apprehension and nervousness, as he greatly feared what type of consequences he would face from César, due to his alarmingly-long absence from the hollow.

After all, despite the fact that he had already reached adulthood, both César and Eduarda treated him as if he were a young chick, acting very protective towards him in particular, as he was indeed, César's lone heir since Mimi had consistently rejected the future position of Matriarch. Eduardo found this protective treatment at his current age insulting to say the least, believing that it grossly undermined his maturity.

Even at this, Eduardo still held in his heart great appreciation of his parent's excessive care for him, as he was very well aware of his parent's cultural responsibility to safeguard the future Patriarch by any means necessary, also deep-down accepting that the importance of sacred tradition certainly superseded his own interests.

Now that hours upon hours had passed since he had last been sighted by his parents, it was more than likely that if he stayed away from the hollow for much longer, it would absolutely be inevitable that César would dispatch his highly-trained search detachments to locate and then return him.

Even if he happened to bypass the many eyes of the search detachments, it would be almost doubtless that he would eventually be spotted by even an ordinary Spix's Macaw and probably thereafter face a deluge of ominous questions, before being turned over to the search detachments. It was not as if he was a relatively unknown macaw within the Tribe, as he was after all, the son of the reigning Patriarch.

As Eduardo kept on flying, now slightly increasing his flight speed by flapping his wings more frequently, the many ambient sounds produced by the extraordinary array of other wildlife around him throughout the jungle grew louder by the minute. The shadows that touched upon the forest floor now furthered their advancement over its surface, and the sky's cerulean color now began fading, albeit slowly.

It was only about a minute afterward when the crisp yellow sun had begun its transition from its current state to a sphere of blinding light. As it transformed, so did the width of the sunbeams by at least thrice the size they were just moments prior as they now penetrated the canopy with far greater ease.

Unfortunately, these beams of sunlight posed a severe hindrance to Eduardo's vision, thus causing his flying direction to be offset several feet to the right for almost a full minute, amongst a variety of other problems which were directly attributed to the chronic lack of clear sight he possessed, most notably his constant swerving in either given direction. This was indeed, quite dangerous, and its potential results (especially since Eduardo was flying through an area teeming with trees and foliage) were less than satisfactory to say the least.

In an attempt to combat this great annoyance, Eduardo rotated his shoulders about two inches backward to increase drag, and after maintaining this position for about five seconds, he rotated his shoulders forward to their original position, thus highly decreasing his overall flight speed, which at least somewhat eliminated the risk of making a dangerous collision with a tree, a branch, or even one of the many dangling vines, although this move did not at all improve his vision.

Proceeding this action, he began experimenting with an assortment of methods to shield his eyes from the beams of the sun whilst still in flight, as well as still being able to retain a proper view of his surroundings, particularly what lied directly ahead of him.

After another minute or so, he eventually decided that if he were able to improve his situation, Eduardo would need to flap his wings upward, whilst also rotating them slightly forward before they reached all the way back down, which he thought would create a simple yet effective means of shade.

However, almost immediately after he began this strange method of flying to combat the blinding sunbeams, he struggled greatly with being able to keep flying in any straight given direction as the wind now bore even less difficulty in swerving him over to the side. Not to mention, this method of flight was very unpleasant to the shoulders, and after just a mere minute later, Eduardo determined that this method had already been rendered completely impractical. His feelings of irritation from this moment forth had now evolved into nothing more than sheer aggravation.

After several more moments passed, Eduardo then angled his body downward, diving into the air by about twenty feet, and then coming to an abrupt halt once he was positioned some thirty feet from off the ground. The sun, although less of a nuisance to him than before, still provided enough light to cause Eduardo to almost flinch in mid-air and probably land himself into trouble as a result.

Now, instead of attempting to somehow prevent the light from reaching his eyes, he instead held out his wings to his sides at their greatest extent, now flying very slowly. Occasionally, every few odd seconds or so, he would tilt his head to the left or the right to catch a glimpse of his flight path. Apart from this, he kept his eyes shut.

Even this decision posed several risks, as now, he could collide into a tree far more easily, as well as making him far more vulnerable to sighting from a warrior that could be on patrol. At the moment however, he highly doubted that the latter would truly affect him as so far, no other birds with the exception of the odd crimson topaz or so were yet to be seen.

Still, he hung onto every bit of caution as he could, as he knew that any search detachment affiliate would probably possess some very keen hearing. For almost the next hour or so, as the sun started dipping into the sky at a very slow pace, Eduardo would rest upon a branch for about a minute before carrying on at a rate of once approximately every fifteen minutes. One quick stop to one of the branches even brought to him a pleasant surprise in the form of a delicious fruit growing from one of the many trees.

Then, after one hour had gradually passed, the shade surrounding him had marginally increased, and the colors of both the sky and the sun had changed dramatically. The sun over that period of time had now transitioned to a somewhat distorted circle, shimmering as it produced an utmost marvelous shade of bright orange. Surrounding it were several layers of a faint pink, which progressively became brighter, as did too the orange that mixed together with the pink.

It was not long afterward when the orange and the pink began the majestic process of melding together, now concentrating in a gorgeous stir of colors. The sunset through Eduardo's eyes was to him, a clear symbol of divinity that assured true beauty in the world. It was for several seconds afterward that he kept his eyes fixed upon the sunset, waiting intently for the orange and pink colors to turn brighter. This was due to an ancient traditional belief within Spix's Macaw culture that dictated that a sunset brought good luck to those who looked upon it with wonder, and the brighter the colors, the higher the amount of luck would be gifted to those who watched it.

Distracted by the immense presence of the marvelous cycle of the sunset that took place before his very eyes, it was only after Eduardo had narrowly avoided making a collision with a long and thick branch that protruded from one of the many surrounding trees when he finally managed to tear his focus away from the sunset, which in a way, almost saddened him to a slight degree, as the colors now began to swirl together in both clockwise and counterclockwise patterns. He began blinking for several seconds, now dramatically changing his plans. It was from then on when he decided that resting in the Açaí Grove all alone would not truly ease the many issues that he still held at great concern.

At first, he thought about possibly turning home and inviting several of his friends to the grove, but it was not long afterward when he realized that Mimi would almost inevitably rat him out if he even dared return home. In fact, at this point, Eduardo held no doubts within his mind whatsoever that his older sister had already notified their parents of his actions at the Great Mouth, although luckily, she did not know his current location, thus making it a far more difficult task for his parents to pinpoint his exact position within the rainforest.

After several more moments, he ultimately decided that he would instead turn to another fruit grove not far away, that had a much higher chance of being inhabited, as he realized that it would be far more burdensome for himself to deal with his many troubles without guidance from someone bearing a great amount of respect and wisdom, such as an elder or an aristocrat who had not attended the council meeting.

This thought occurred to him due to the fact that more often than not, elders and aristocrats who weren't present at César's meetings in general (whether they be secret or not) were most likely ousted beforehand due to "unsavory behavior," which usually translated into harsh criticism of either the Patriarch or the Matriarch, whether that harsh criticism was reasonable or not. At this, Eduardo was absolutely dumbfounded that the elder Mateo was even allowed to participate, due in part to both his rude and provocative speaking tone, as well as the fact that he was indeed largely responsible for the state of pure chaos and even violent pandemonium of sorts that had swept over the Great Mouth.

Following his decision concerning that he would both find another fruit grove to make a brief rest and possibly assort and address his troubles with one of its inhabitants, he spun his head around, scanning all of his surroundings with his pair of pale-green eyes. Immediately afterward, he had assured himself that he had made the right decision and then held the desire to turn around. However, since he could not decide on what fruit grove to travel towards at the moment, he did not end up turning at all, and continued flying straight ahead for about another twenty seconds or so.

After the passing of another several moments, and following Eduardo's continued advance through another fifty feet or so of air, he slightly elevated his position, now that the sun's brightness had died down to a slight degree, as well as to gain a significantly better view of the many dozens of trees that came and went, to see if any particular trunks held any distinctive markings along them.

To his genuine surprise, it was hardly thirty seconds afterward when by sheer instinct, he began squinting at something along the trunk of an upcoming tree some twenty feet north, positioned about six feet to the right from where he currently flew.

In a matter of seconds, it was quite clear to Eduardo that what he had taken sight of along the surface of the tree trunk was a faint streak of pink smeared onto the trunk itself. It was obvious that this was an entrance or exit marking, and it was even clearer what type of fruit that belonged to the grove, as the only fruit he knew of that bore pink-colored juice was indeed that of açaí berries.

Eduardo thought then that although he would soon afterward turn around and hopefully navigate his way to another fruit grove, he now figured that since he had already reached the Açaí Grove, he would utilize this opportunity to his advantage to at least make a very brief stop along one of the Grove's branches, in hopes of taking a few deep breaths and possibly even eating a small number of berries before carrying on.

However, he was very quickly afterward forced to abandon these plans as within a matter of several moments after he had crossed into the Açaí Grove, wild cries of both fright and agony could be heard from where he flew. These cries were soon followed by numerous metallic-sounding squawks and screeches. Whoever it was, it obviously belonged to a macaw, or at the very least, some other species of neotropical parrot.

Due to the squawking bearing a rather low sound frequency despite its disturbing nature, Eduardo almost immediately made the assumption that the cries and mad squawks were coming from at least three-hundred feet away.

Eduardo did not exactly know how to react to the series of these sudden cries, although he reckoned that either the macaw was injured or it had been in response to an approaching predator. The latter possibility in particular effectively guaranteed his immediate exit from the Açaí Grove, and although he bore a sense of empathy for whoever the cries were coming from, he did at all not want to make any potentially fatal decisions based solely on his feelings of empathy.

As he reached his right wing upward and his left wing downward, making a rather slow turn to the left, his eyes widened, his chest and neck feathers spiked up, and his heart thumped wildly within his chest as the squawks kept their persistence throughout the rainforest. After successfully completing this turn, he almost instantaneously afterward put forth a great burst of speed, propelling himself some twenty feet ahead within just a mere several seconds or so.

Proceeding Eduardo's escape from the potentially dangerous area, he pressed onward for another few moments, then turning east from his original flight path. He now flew past another column of dozens upon dozens of trees, this column in particular he knew eventually crossed into the Amazon Basin. Still, he found it quite difficult to ultimately decide on what fruit grove to arrive at.

At first, he considered both the Bacaba and Guava Groves, although it was only seconds later when he remembered that three nights prior, he had overheard a conversation between César and Eduarda over the possibilities of securing the two groves with multiple border detachments in the wake of the recent tensions between the Spix's and Scarlet Macaw Tribes.

Although Eduardo still figured that the two groves had not yet been occupied by the numerous warrior detachments his father had spoken of, (due to the generally poor management of the border protection units that happened to extend their patrol route outside of the Tribe's borders) he knew full well that it would be a far wiser decision to simply avoid crossing into the Bacaba and Guava Groves altogether.

While still on the rather gradual advance through the air, Eduardo at this point almost felt a feeling of desperation within himself. However, he still maintained his focus on any possible fruit groves in the area, and after several more minutes of brainstorming, he had already ruled out the possibilities of arriving at either the Maracujá or Cupuaçu Groves.

The Maracujá Grove's population of macaws was tiny, numbering only about two dozen macaws in total, and the majority of its few inhabitants happened to be Tribal healers. The Cupuaçu Grove did not fare much better, as even the mere act of crossing beyond its borders would mean having to journey further west for at least another thirty or so minutes, and even at that, Eduardo would have to fly quite fast, (which would no doubt expend much of his remaining energy) to even feasibly reach the grove within that amount of time.

Now that he had made his way into a tree column that was rather close to the Amazon, the only fruit grove that Eduardo could picture in his mind that was unguarded, whilst simultaneously bearing an adequate population to speak to, as well as being close enough to where it could be reached within less than half an hour, was the Banana Grove. It sat approximately half a mile from his current location, and thus, he thought that he could easily reach it within about fifteen to twenty minutes. What troubled him at this though was that he had long since forgotten the name of the uninhabited tree column that ended up leading into the Banana Grove itself.

It had been several years since Eduardo had ventured out into the Banana Grove, recalling a fond memory from that period of time as he continued flying; it was of him, Mimi, and his parents spending a cloudy Summer day at the Amazon Basin, where unfortunately, Mimi had been splashed on the wing whilst the family had flown over the Amazon River by several passing river dolphins.

Eduardo had laughed at her for minutes on end following the incident, which in turn, had rendered the color of Mimi's face as red as an apple for the next several moments after that. He then remembered that they had then afterward crossed into the Banana Grove from their flight route from the Amazon Basin, and a messenger of the Scarlet Tribe had met up with them, whom of which had been located about two-hundred feet inward from the entrance to the surrounding jungle of the Basin itself.

While the messenger, the Patriarch, and the Matriarch had all been busy with discussing several important matters concerning two recent piranha attacks, along with the possible creation of a new fruit bartering route within the human city of Parintins, Eduardo and Mimi had wandered off and had flown up into the branches of one of the banana trees, laughing merrily as their heads rose above the surface of the canopy, their heads bearing slight resemblance to a pair of blue buoys lightly floating within a sea of green.

It was almost saddening to Eduardo that he could not recall the exact name of the pathway leading to the Banana Grove at his remembrance of that wonderful day. The only miniscule detail he could recall concerning the name of the pathway was that it began with the letter B. In response, he began mentally processing numerous combinations of letters after the letter B, in hopes that one would eventually trigger any past memories that gave away the name of the pathway.

For another minute or so, he kept on struggling to figure out the name, and this was certainly not helped by the fact that putting further concentration on the subject meant progressively less of his focus remained directed towards his flight path. This lead to various dangerous collisions being very narrowly avoided, a great many branches nearly finding their mark at Eduardo's forehead. As he kept flying ahead, the amount of foliage and vines surrounding him gradually increased.

Eventually, once he turned the majority of his focus to the surrounding rainforest and its many obstacles in store for him, Eduardo soon afterward spotted an emerald tree boa up in the trees, some fifty or so feet above from where he was currently in flight. It quietly slithered across the surface area of a thin, yet large branch, preparing to coil itself around it, whilst simultaneously giving several faint hisses, its forked tongue lashing out in the air and afterward proceeding to retract back into the snake's mouth before the majestic, yet intimidating cycle repeated, at a rate of about once per every half of a second or so.

At the sight of the creature called the boa, his struggle to regain his memory of the pathway's name now came to an abrupt halt, as the word "boa" indeed happened to constitute as the first three letters of the name. It was only seconds afterward when he finally remembered the full name of the pathway leading to the Banana Grove; the commonplace given name of the pathway was indeed the "Boaventura."

The Boaventura Pathway itself had received its namesake from the first member of the Spix's Macaw Tribe to have been officially recorded to have journeyed via flight all the way to the Caribbean Sea, whilst simultaneously having made a successful return to Tribal territory, named Boaventura Gonçalo. She had completed both the perilous journeys to and from the island of Trinidad in the year of 1547. The event was widely commemorated across the entirety of the Amazon, and what was even more impressive was that at the time of Boaventura's journey, the Spix's Macaw Tribe itself was only fourteen years old, and as well as that, it was also still experiencing the reign of the Tribe's very first Patriarch, Jacinto I.

Another intriguing historical fact concerning the Boaventura Pathway that Eduardo could recall, according to his father, was that it had been the site of where in the year 1742, a formal alliance pact agreement between the Spix's and Scarlet Macaw Tribes had been discussed among the two Tribes' respective Patriarchs, Carlinhos of the Spix's Macaws and Gáspar II of the Scarlet Macaws.

Although the two Tribe leaders had constantly worked together on many important potential issues, thus reportedly putting forth much effort to achieve the alliance agreement itself, the general populations of both Tribes very much differed in opinion due to their seething hatred for one another, caused by the many violent border skirmishes that took place at the time, and as a result, such an agreement was never established during the remainder of the two Patriarch's reigns, and it had never been fully conceived since.

Now that he had solved the very serious problem of finding the name of the passage, Eduardo took his course further east, and drastically increased the speed at which he flew, though he continued to be aware of his surroundings, turning his attention towards what stood in front at all times, in order to avoid any potential obstacle that lied ahead of him.

At many points, he forced himself to rapidly accelerate his speed, and at numerous other points where either many branches or scattered arrays of dense foliage stood before him, he forced himself to almost immediately decrease his speed. These points of rapid increases and decreases in speed occurred several times, over the course of about two-and-a-half minutes.

The only notable obstacle that he had so far encountered was a single tree that had collapsed onto another that now heavily leaned rightward, an obstacle that was swiftly dealt with when Eduardo simply performed a slight dip in the air, flying under the trunk of the collapsed tree and proceeding to rise upward to his original position in the air in an elegant fashion when surpassing the tree trunk. Following this one minor inconvenience, Eduardo's flight path fortunately continued onward in a straight line, uninterrupted by any more potential hazards.

It was then following the surpassing of several minutes when suddenly, a faint female voice could now be heard, the voice then resonating into echoes throughout the rainforest. Even with his keen sense of hearing, Eduardo could not at all pinpoint exactly at what distance the voice was coming from.

Strangely, the voice sounded quite familiar to him, although the voice did not sound as if it were speaking words, rather the voice instead produced soft, yet loud murmurs of sound. Not to mention, properly processing the many voiced noises whilst also avoiding all obstacles that could stand in his way proved to be quite difficult, and at first, Eduardo chose to outright ignore the voice completely.

However, the sounds produced by the female voice grew ever the more frequent, and it's echoes throughout the jungle grew ever louder. Eduardo frantically accelerated his speed at first, although he returned to his normal cruising speed just several seconds afterward. As the voice grew louder, it became ever the more clear, and after several more moments, Eduardo instantly recognized who this voice belonged to; it was obviously his sister, Mimi.

He was not at all surprised at this, as he knew his older sister would eventually catch up to him sooner or later, although he was absolutely puzzled at how Mimi had figured out his location. Even if Alberto and Verde had shared information to her, it still did not make any sense to him, as Alberto and Verde had left him long before even the thought of travelling to the Açaí Grove had come to mind.

Although he knew for a fact it was her, knowing that now, there would be no way to conceal the truth of his actions to his parents, he still hoped to venture away as far as possible from where Mimi would reasonably follow him, as he absolutely did not want her of all birds to intervene into his time, a time where he was trying to find a suitable area to take a brief rest and at least moderately relax his mind for a while.

He then afterward accelerated considerably, although despite the fact he was perfectly aware of the great risks posed to him whilst doing this, in large part due to the immense multitude of vegetation combined with the many inwardly-protruding tree branches that surrounded him as he flew, he still progressively increased the speed at which he was flying at, making his flight path ever the more dangerous. In his view, Eduardo did not have much of a choice, as unless he could properly pinpoint where she was positioned throughout the rainforest, it would be nigh impossible to shake her off his tail.

Due to his priorities whilst in flight now abruptly alternating between what lied ahead of him and where Mimi's voice was coming from, it was not at all long before he barely avoided several more collisions with a number of branches, and as soon as he decided to turn his focus ahead instead of where his sister was located, spotting several assortments of vines dangling just several feet away from him, a plump blue figure bearing stubby, short wings swerved into his direction, ramming him directly into the rightward back end of his ribcage.

This threw him aghast in mid-air, speechless as he crashed into the large array of vines that stood several feet ahead from where he had flown, his head greatly jostled as he became entangled in them, the vines swinging him to the left and right at a constant rate, heavily disorienting him for several seconds. As the plump blue figure surpassed him, twirled around in the air and ascended by about an additional ten feet in the air, then descending down onto the very same branch that bore the vines that currently held Eduardo, it landed upon its surface. Eduardo now bore a facial expression of nothing but sheer furiousness.

It was indeed Mimi who had rammed into his side, her beak carrying a wide frown as she stared upon her younger brother from where she was perched along the branch, her eyes slanting downward by a slight degree, carrying a sense of great guilt. Her brother in response screeched in aggravation at the top of his lungs, his eyes rolling upward to stare into her eyes.

"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR?" The shrill tone of his voice was not at all helped by the furious orange glow that flickered in his eyes. Mimi looked stricken, her eyes widened in fear, before she proceeded to then open her beak to give her response to her angry brother.

"To tell you all of the truth that lies with me, once I left the hollow, I went out of my way to tell Dad what scheme you were up to this time. In turn, he gave me special permission as his eldest child to attend the Great Mouth meeting with the specific task of waiting and staying hidden within the trees to watch your every move upon your eventual arrival. I camouflaged myself extremely well, using the same exact methods our border detachments use when conducting searches, and I saw everything you did."

"How?" Eduardo exclaimed, still bearing an angered tone within his voice. "Just… how?"

"By remaining silent, as well as taking some other little bits of advice from Neto Pereira and Couto Dias, whom of which I met up with at an old hollow by sheer coincidence. Anyway, as I was saying, although I was supposed to report whatever troublemaking activity you had gotten yourself into to Dad as soon as the meeting was over, I instead followed you. Soon figuring out you were intending to venture out to the Açaí Grove where many jaguars now roam, I grabbed one of my friends and made her scream real loudly to drive you off from the danger, and I then continued to stay on your trail, until this became the result."

"Well, at the very least, couldn't you have just sped up behind me and approached me instead of deliberately ramming into my side while I'm trying to fly around, causing me to crash into these vines? If it weren't for these vines, I probably would've sustained a pretty serious injury!"

"Don't blame me, Dad requested that I'd ram into your ribcage if presented the opportunity, as he said that it would already provide a suitable punishment without him losing his temper at you while he's got more important things to do, such as organizing his legions." Eduardo responded with a bitter snarl at these words, whilst still struggling to untangle the many vines that still entrapped him.

"Did you by chance decide to get caught up into your old tattletale ways and mention to Dad that Alberto and Verde aided in my eavesdropping?" Whilst still in an attempt to free himself, he was now attempting to somehow squeeze one of his wings through the very small gaps that stood between each lustrous green vine, although due to how tightly both his wings and legs were bound, he hardly made any progress in this factor.

Mimi in response to this somewhat insulting remark, stood silent for several seconds, her piercing blue eyes still glaring into her brother's pale-green eyes. Following those several seconds' passing, she finally opened her beak, speaking slowly, whilst the overall tone in her voice did not change.

"Actually, for once, I dared not even bother to as much as attempt to do so. I had thought about it for a few moments, but as I knew Alberto is already in huge trouble himself, not to mention the fact that he has a girlfriend of his own who loves him dearly, I quickly came to the realization that I was a better bird than to go ruin somebody's life, all for the sake of making myself feel important for a few minutes. I decided today that although it was tempting, I would not even take the risk of bestowing upon myself a painful feeling of utmost guilt and shame, which I believed would surely stay with me for many years."

"Hmm, to be perfectly honest with you, those are certainly some of the most admirable words that I've heard from your beak thus far!" Eduardo exclaimed, whilst now focused on a different set of efforts from just moments previously, now attempting to free his legs from the vines first, so that in theory, he could use his talons to slash through the rest of the vines that restrained him. However, these efforts just moments later proved futile, as he was still unable to properly line up the position of his talons with the vines in order to cut them. He then let out a sigh, before proceeding to instead ask Mimi to help him, though he still held virtually nothing but distrust for her at the moment. "Mimi, if you would excuse me, may you please be kind enough to help me out of this mess?"

"Yes, of course, but first, do you have anything else to add?" Mimi inquired. Eduardo did not know how to react to this, although since Mimi had clearly asked him if there was anything on his mind worth adding to their conversation, he decided that speaking for several more moments would release him quicker.

He then thought for a few seconds, blinking constantly as he brainstormed, and afterward, he began speaking to Mimi about his new intentions that had come to him, as he was after all, stuck with his older sister while he was on his way to the Banana Grove. He raised his head upward as he spoke, which while much more uncomfortable, was at least a preferable gesture whilst in conversation to simply dangling in the air.

"Say, Mimi, I was actually planning on heading over to the Banana Grove, you know, that one grove that the two of us crossed into with Mom and Dad several years ago?" At this, Mimi gave a cough, before her facial expression conveyed nothing but absolute bewilderment.

"I am honestly perplexed at your very desire. Since I have assumed that you would want to stay hidden for quite a while longer, may I ask, why on earth would you want to venture out there? While I was speaking to Dad about the Great Mouth situation, one of his guards that stood beside him told me that afterward, many of the council members amongst many other birds who were not attending the council would be holding a meeting at the Banana Grove."

"Do you happen to bear the knowledge of exactly where this meeting is taking place?" Eduardo asked in a rather polite manner, his left brow raised as he spoke.

"Yes, I do. The meeting will be held at this one massive tree called the Árvore do Amor. Apparently, it got its name due to the rumors circulating around that have said it was where Patriarch Afonso and Matriarch Irene met one-hundred-and-twenty years ago. Anyway, I've also heard that Alberto might even attend, that is, if he isn't knownst by César to have screwed anything up for the rest of the day."

"Well, by this point, I've all but completely ruled out the idea of hiding for any longer, it is now entirely pointless to continue such a stupid activity when at this very moment as we speak, Dad's men are probably searching for the both of us, especially me since I am the heir after all," Eduardo responded, whilst his eyes rolled in a rightward direction. "Now that I think about it, I bear a small feeling within myself that wishes I hadn't gone to the Great Mouth, since Dad has to be pretty angry, after all of that chaos that had ensued after Mateo kept up his talk. Wait, you know who Mateo is, right?"

"Yes, I know who Mateo Laranja is! Have you decided to just turn a blind eye to events that go on around you up until now? Anyway, Mateo himself has gained quite the level of infamy throughout the Tribe, although he's still greatly admired by those who fear that César will eventually become the root of a giant mishap somewhere down the line, due to his intensely persistent criticism of anything at all that goes wrong within the Tribe. He's practically ancient now to the best of my knowledge. Last time I checked, he was born in 1908, making him the oldest former warrior in the Tribe. He got a sizable amount of fame as a sort of war hero when there was some kind of conflict going on at the Banana Grove many decades ago, and that's basically how he made his way in to become an advisory elder in the Tribe."

"At that, I cannot be all that surprised at Mateo's refusal to accept César, I mean for crying out loud, he was not only a member of the Tribe during the reign of Jacinto the Fourth, but he was a war hero under his reign," Eduardo sighed, before the attitude in which he spoke dramatically shifted, his eyes now bearing a look of anger as his beak opened again. "Now, I'd hate to be impolite at such an abrupt period, but conversations aside, will you _please_ release me already!"

At Eduardo's very sudden shift in the tone of his voice, Mimi sported a rather distraught look in both her eyes and upon her beak. She gave a heavy sigh, and after several more moments passed, she spoke quietly, pointing at the assortments of vines that hung directly above Eduardo's upper body with her blue wingtips, whilst still staring down at him. "Your beak."

"What the heck does my beak have to do with anything?" Eduardo growled, not yet understanding what his sister was actually trying to communicate to him.

"Use your beak, cut the vines with your beak!" Mimi shouted angrily as she threw her wings up into the air in an act of frustration. Silence passed over the siblings for several long seconds thereafter, and whilst Mimi expressed a rather irritated look, Eduardo's reaction at his astounding stupidity was nothing short of a look of utmost horror upon his face. The utilization of one's beak as a tool to cut vines and entangling vegetation, as well as to use it for cracking nuts open was a basic skill that just about every macaw acquired a mere few weeks from the day of their hatching.

Eduardo then placed his visual focus upon Mimi for several seconds, giving a few more words from his beak, while in return, his sister exchanged with him a nod. "I suppose that at my utter lack of thinking, I should give my sincere apologies to you. However, please, if an event similar to this ever occurs again, don't ram into my side."

Following these few words, he let out a sigh, his feathered head then almost instantaneously afterward proceeded to jolt upward in Mimi's direction. He dropped his head back down to its original position just less than half a second following this action, causing his entire body still entrapped in the vines to sway backward and forward every few odd seconds. It was soon afterward when Eduardo began to take in a

deep breath and following this action, rested for a very brief period, then mustering all of the combined strength within his upper body to arise. The muscles located in his abdomen contracted slightly inward as he began lifting himself from his original position.

As his view of all objects and vegetation surrounding his vicinity shifted dramatically, he focused his vision upon the many vines that entangled him and proceeded to make very quick and hard jabs with his beak at the vines, especially the ones that were wrapped around his legs. After about twenty seconds had since passed, progress had certainly been done, albeit that progression had taken its toll rather slowly, as the jabs Eduardo had made at the vines with his beak had so far, only cut the thinnest vines, while the larger vines were largely undamaged, although many now bore considerable tears.

It was only a mere several seconds later when Eduardo's abdomen muscles that helped maintain his upward stance returned to their original position, leaving him dangling in the air from the branch for another thirty odd seconds. Following his brief period of rest, he finally recovered his strength, performing the same action as he had done earlier, although similar to the previous attempt, he succeeded in breaking only the small vines that were concentrated around his thigh, the only exception lying with a single large vine that he had successfully cut, although this one was not wrapped around his legs, rather it had been wrapped around his stomach area.

Now that he had come to the realization that cutting the vines around his legs would be no easy task without first cutting the vines that wrapped around the higher portions of his body, Eduardo then centered his attention on the vines wrapped around his wings.

He first rose his neck several inches from where it had corresponded in a straight pattern with the rest of his body, then turning his head in a rightward direction, centering his widely-opened beak along the vines covering the surface of his wing. Upon the reunification of the two halves of his beak that came seconds later, the vines that had stretched out before them instantly snapped in half.

Eduardo proceeded to then repeat this same action in a leftward direction within only a matter of several seconds, and he continued this process across all areas of his body, snapping a grand total of thirty-six vines with his beak over the course of about ten long and arduous minutes. However, he still left the vines wrapped around his ankles intact for the time being, in order to prepare himself momentarily for the fall he would have to face if he were to successfully ascend into the air. Mimi still firmly stood along the branch with her talons whilst looking upon her younger brother, soon afterward giving him several complimentary remarks following his escape from the vine's entanglement.

"I will admit, once you actually work with that useful brain of yours, you are not at all bad."

"Do you know what I find humorous about this situation?" Eduardo responded unexpectedly, his neck tilting upward again, showing respect as he looked directly at his sister whilst speaking.

"What?" Mimi asked, her right brow raising as she opened her beak to say that word.

"That I am the successor to César and somehow, you're the teacher in this situation. I suppose this whole mess is supposed to serve as my comeuppance following all of those practical jokes I played on you as a chick. No matter then. Thank Selva that there is at least some justice to be had in this world, even if that justice is not at all in my favor."

Awkward silence surrounded the two siblings for several seconds, before Mimi sighed, opening her beak once more. "I suppose you'd like to resume flying, right?"

"Indeed." After the two siblings had concluded their conversation, Eduardo's upper body sprang back up, his beak almost instantaneously ripping the vine wrapped around his left ankle in half, then lowering back down. He then extended his wings outward, preparing for flight. After taking in a deep breath, he finally sprang up again using the muscles in his abdomen, breaking the vine concentrated around his right ankle.

This time, rather than lowering back down to conserve his energy, Eduardo instantly fell through the air by some twenty feet, before he was able to lean forward in mid-air and use his wings to propel himself upward, until he at last was now at the same height from off the ground as Mimi, though he still remained in the air, flapping his wings lightly, at a distance of around three feet from where his sister stood along the branch. Eduardo and Mimi then stared directly into each other's eyes for a moment, then silent for several seconds, until the latter untucked her wings from the sides of her body and clapped. Eduardo replied with a smirk, his head then turning to the right, looking out into the remainder of the pathway.

"Let me guess, you want to see which one of us will end up becoming the early bird to the party?" Mimi remarked, her blue wings now again tucked into her sides. Eduardo smiled at this, and his sister smiled back. The two then exchanged nods, and almost immediately following this action, Eduardo turned in the direction of the Boaventura Pathway and tilted forward in mid-air and flew at great speed, forming a much more streamline, suitable position for fast flight. Mimi extended out her pair of short, stubby wings and jumped forward from off the branch, her wings then carrying her forward as her talons no longer wrapped themselves around the branch.

Though she was far behind her brother, Mimi's pair of blue eyes were still trained upon Eduardo until he was out of sight following the passing of another few odd seconds. It was soon afterward when she turned to the right, and flew at her top speed, as she now assumed that since her brother was so far ahead, he would have probably by now shifted his fast speed to that of a more relaxed cruising speed. She continued flying in this manner for about another two minutes, before she could now finally see Eduardo, just a mere twenty feet ahead from where she flew. It now seemed that her clever strategy had succeeded.

At the sound of flapping wings, Eduardo at first thought of turning his head around to see how far behind his sister was in the air, though he now greatly hesitated, as after the trouble he had gotten into just minutes prior, he certainly did not want to take any chances of yet again getting caught in the vast foliage throughout the jungle. He then decided that he would continue flying at cruising speed, though he still occasionally flapped his wings at a frequent pace at any given moment when the sound of Mimi's wings made it seem as if she were flying faster than him.

From then on, the only obstacles that either of the two siblings faced were a small array of several inconveniently-positioned trees and two small clusters of vines that were very easily avoided by either swerving or diving. Eduardo and Mimi then continued flying further and further into the dense rainforest, encountering surprisingly few obstacles along the way, similar to the occurrence of the relatively few obstacles before.

However, soon after the two birds had flown for approximately ten minutes, the amount of dense foliage surrounding the pathway dwindled greatly, though the landscape was largely the same, apart from the much taller trees that were just now coming into view. Both Eduardo and Mimi now began scanning every tree in sight for any fruit grove markings along their trunks. Just several moments afterward, Eduardo spotted about thirty feet ahead from his current flying position, a tall murumuru tree carrying a yellow marking along its trunk. It did not at all take long for the marking to catch Mimi's notice as well.

Upon closer viewing as the two kept on advancing through the air, it was quite apparent that the substance making up the yellow marking was actually a yellow orchid's powder, which was easily recognizable to the Spix's Macaws, due to their routine use in the Tribe's spectacular dancing ceremonies. During these ceremonies, the males covered their faces in red berry juice, while the females covered their faces in powder from yellow orchids. Rarely, the colors of both the juice and powder would vary depending on what the dance was commemorating. Following the hatching of one of the Patriarch's children, for example, the males would instead use açaí juice and the females would use powder from pink orchids.

This marking, due to its yellow color, made it certain that the Banana Grove was where the two siblings were entering. After Eduardo and Mimi eventually surpassed the mark on the tree, Eduardo and then Mimi ascended dramatically, by about sixty or so feet from their original position. After just a mere minute or so upon entry, the two heard several squawks around them. Eduardo turned his head to both the left and right, spotting numerous hollows located in a tight assortment of large banana trees in both directions. The bananas themselves were grouped together on the branches forming layers, in a fashion that almost resembled the scale patterns borne by a lizard.

Several more minutes passed, and the landscape now became progressively more open, and although there were just as many trees amongst the two macaws as there had been before, they were now far more dispersed, though they became ever-increasingly clustered together. After an additional minute or so had passed, an abnormally large tree now came into view. It only took several more moments for both Eduardo and Mimi to realize that this tree in particular was most likely where the rumored meeting was taking place. Certainly, it now seemed as if these rumors were not rumors at all, as speaking from even this far of a distance reached both of their ear drums.

Eduardo and Mimi then flapped their wings much more frequently, finally knowing for a fact that they had both reached the Banana Grove. The two advanced through the air at a remarkable pace, so much so that it just moments later, voices from the enormous tree greeted them.

 _ **Author's Fact of the Day:**_

 _ **The namesake of the author, OrangeMacawWorld, is actually the extinct Cuban macaw, the only natural, non-hybrid macaw to have featured orange plumage. The username of the author is meant to serve as a tribute to this beautiful extinct macaw.**_


	7. The Banana Grove

Dozens of macaws standing along the branches of the Árvore do Amor now turned their feathered heads to their right, almost immediately upon taking notice of Eduardo and Mimi. Nightfall had finally set in, and the clouds that once hovered over the sea of wonderful colors had abruptly transitioned to a collection of ominous dark-gray clouds blanketing the sky. The relatively few areas of the sky that were uncovered by the clouds appeared almost as pitch-black as the very shadows that surrounded all opaque objects and creatures during the time of day.

Though it would have been far more satisfactory had the night sky been clear enough for the thousands of gleaming stars to become visible, the current weather was certainly far from unpleasant. For the time being, the sky was devoid of any rain, a rather unusual occurrence during the Amazon's wet season, of which took place from the months of December through May.

As the two siblings were still in flight, making their gradual approach towards the tree, (they now flew at approximately thirty feet away from the branches of the tree) the macaws present along the tree's overall structure and branches began cheering immensely. The excited macaws' eyes lit up with wonder at the very sight of their approach, and at the two's long absence from any contact with any other Tribe members, it was surprising to both Eduardo and Mimi that very few of these macaws bore any looks of relief. As the many other macaws cheered for their arrival, several extended out their dominant wing and waved, some squawked politely, a few whistled, and three or four even bowed their heads slightly as a gesture of utmost respect.

Contrary to their surprise at observing few looks of relief, Eduardo and Mimi did not all find these kinds of gestures very surprising, (in particular, the bowing) as it was a common cultural belief across various macaw and even conure tribes within the Amazon that those who bowed to their respective Patriarch and his family would be granted higher rewards in the afterlife by the macaw's god Selva. It also could not be forgotten that the two were indeed approaching a large meeting primarily comprised of individual birds who either worked with or at the very least, engaged in some sort of discourse with César.

Even at Eduardo and Mimi's shared knowledge of both of these facts, the amount of respect being given to the both of them still came across as somewhat bizarre. This was in part due to their past interactions with their friends and acquaintances, in which they would oftentimes exchange brief greetings with either of the two siblings, though the act of either bowing to them or cheering at their very arrival was virtually unseen.

In nervousness, Eduardo attempted to appear as friendly as possible via his beak expressions, while Mimi whispered to him in a fashion that bore such anxiety that her words were effectively inaudible. As a direct result, Eduardo chose to ignore his older sister's rambling. Still, even at the mere irregularity of being greeted in this way by any number of macaws, (let alone a massive group of them) they gladly took every bit of respect that they could get, even if it felt to both of them a tad bit unnecessary. As a sign of appreciation, both macaws now presented on their beaks wide smiles, and the inviting facial expressions upon the macaw's faces became ever the more apparent as both siblings beside one another stood only several feet away in the air from the tree.

In a matter of several seconds, Eduardo surpassed Mimi while still in the air, and chose to land on a large and empty branch that upon extending two or so feet outward, tilted rightward at a forty-five-degree angle. Following Eduardo's shift to the leftward direction which signaled that he had selected this particular branch, both siblings also tilted their bodies upwards while in flight, in preparation for an easy landing along the branches.

Within approximately seven more seconds, Eduardo and Mimi had finally arrived at the front of the tree and had dramatically lowered their elevation in the air. Now grasping the large branch with their talons, Eduardo landed first, and Mimi landed several seconds after him. An entire crowd of macaws stood dispersed around them, standing upon other branches to the left or right side from where the two siblings stood beside one another on the large branch.

Mimi rose her wing to her beak as she let out a cough into it, before lowering it back down and turning her head to her right, her ocean-blue eyes sweeping over the other macaws amongst her. Eduardo did the same, and for the next few odd seconds, the two birds did nothing but observe the sheer amount of other birds surrounding them, until suddenly, a welcoming, low-pitched voice reached their ears, belonging to another macaw, of course.

"I can see that the word from the Patriarch himself did not at all disappoint!" the macaw greeted. Eduardo turned his head to the left, now fixing his eyes upon the macaw who had acknowledged their presence to the entire crowd. At these words, about a dozen or so other macaws surrounding them grew silent in the hopes of listening to their conversation, though the rest of the crowd were still chattering to one another bearing little concern about any serious subject matter, though there were the occasional few macaws who instead discussed important topics with their friends and acquaintances.

This macaw, like many others who worked with the Patriarch, appeared to be middle-aged, and was quite tall, in fact, almost as tall as César himself. His most striking physical features included a pair of light green eyes bearing a sense of utmost curiosity within them, a similar array of head feathers to that of César's, and a set of long talons that all curved downward, which brought Eduardo a reminding thought pertaining to Alberto, whom of which featured very similar talons.

In addition to this, the macaw also held light-blue plumage across almost his entire body, with the exception of the feathers covering his long and broad wings, which were only comprised of cerulean feathers. He stood alone, along a short and thick branch, in a manner that gave Eduardo the impression that he was quite relaxed and enjoying himself. This was valuable information, as he was certainly relieved that he had not stumbled across yet another meeting plagued with strife and quarrels.

Eduardo found this particular macaw very familiar in appearance, assuming that he had been one of the few council members that had actually spoken at the Great Mouth. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" Eduardo politely remarked. As an awkward silence now came over the three birds, Eduardo turned his body to the right, leaning forward and then beginning to whisper in his sister's ear in a manner that was hardly audible whatsoever. "Do you know who this guy is?"

"Are you asking me?" Mimi turned to her brother, whispering back. "Because if so, I'm sorry to say it, but you're out of luck on this one." Almost as soon as Eduardo and Mimi concluded their conversation, the tall, green-eyed macaw raised a brow in suspicion. This ended up leaving the moment surrounding the siblings quite tense, until the macaw standing on the branch before them opened his beak, his brow lowering back down as he spoke.

"Is there anything troubling you about my presence?" the macaw questioned in an inquisitive tone.

"No… No not at all," Eduardo stammered in alarm. "I was simply asking my quite-knowledgeable sister if she knew who you are."

"If your intent was to figure out how I am, you should have simply requested that I give my name. Putting that aside, my name is Mar Cão, and I have for over a decade, been one of your father's commanders for his legions, or what he calls in his sense of hubris the "Spix's Macaw Army." As soon as the Great Mouth meeting concluded, I and several other macaws of similar positions were dispatched to find candidates for fresh, new officers, as they are rather lacking within our ranks, due to poor management and all. Several hours later following a lack of success, knowing that you had been present at the meeting in secret, I asked César if he would grant me permission to send out several sentries to look for you. He did not authorize such a thing, instead relying on his prediction that you would surely find your way here."

"Wait, you know about me flying off from the Great Mouth?"

"Of course, I know. Virtually everyone enjoying themselves amongst us right now have received the word from your father. He was speaking to me just before the meeting began, automatically assuming that almost as soon as Alberto and Verde dropped off those berries, you would try and get to the council meeting. He said to me that he had dispatched your sister to act in the role of a spy, after she had told him about flying away from the hollow that you carried the intention of reaching the Great Mouth."

Following these words, Mimi smirked at Eduardo, and then a moment later, began stifling her laughter by holding her right wing around the surface of her beak. However, her brother still noticed it, sighing, and asking another question to Mar, who for the past several moments, had stood still, making no remarks.

"It still is rather strange that he would immediately assume that what Mimi had said to him was indeed true, due to her constant lying to him to get me into trouble, which would elevate her status. Though of course, I have at times caused genuine trouble. Still, I would very much appreciate the answer as to why he would immediately suspect the former and not the latter." At the first sentence spoken by her younger brother, Mimi blushed, her now crisp, red cheeks bearing great resemblance to the color of the eye-shaped guarana fruit.

Mar then leaned slightly backward as he spoke with his eyes directed at the sky, also puffing out his chest feathers in an act of seriousness. "Almost immediately upon his return to the Torres Tree, he noticed you were gone, and from there, he said to me that he was certain that Mimi had not lied to him in order to potentially elevate his love for her, and that your departure had indeed taken place."

"I am going to assume at those words that my father was absolutely furious upon realization that I had left," Eduardo commented, speaking in a tone of slight uneasiness.

"Under normal circumstances, you would absolutely stand correct; but strangely, in this instance, I'm afraid that you will have to stand corrected. He simply bore a look of dismay for several seconds, before turning around and explaining to me that by then, he had also assumed that Mimi had already caught up to you and rammed you, which he had suggested for her to do. When I asked him why he had suggested Mimi to perform this act of punishment, your father answered that it would supplement him screaming his head off tonight. To complement these remarks, he finally ended with a few calm words that implied that anymore aggravation today was completely unwarranted, and thus, he thought facing you directly was simply not worth his time. He has legions to organize after all."

"Ah, just as I said, Eddy!" Mimi chuckled from behind Eduardo. Her brother turned his focus to her for a brief period yet again, displaying to her a slight frown on his beak, before turning his head around, resuming his conversation with Mar. Several odd seconds later, an important question suddenly came to mind, and his beak, in turn, opened and spoke his question.

"Wait, how did my father figure out I even knew about the meeting in the Great Mouth? It was only when Alberto explained to me why he was delivering the berries to us rather than either of our parents when I even knew about the meeting."

"Your father suspected that you would find out about the meeting, one way or another. He knows very well that you're cunning, he knows you possess a free spirit, and he certainly knows for a fact that your curiosity reaches its peak whenever it involves eavesdropping on his private conversations. Over the years, he's informed me well on your cleverness, your tricks, your ways, and what you take interest in. From what I've heard, to say the least, your sheer variety of tricks in order to achieve for your own benefit is quite impressive, especially for a macaw who is hardly old enough to call himself an adult. If not for the fact that you are the Patriarch's heir, you would make for an excellent spy."

"Thank you for your compliments… Mar," Eduardo said appreciatively at first, then speaking in a rather low and awkward tone as he said the rather unorthodox name possessed by the middle-aged macaw, before apologizing. "My apologies, Sir." Mar, in turn, made a polite response to the apology.

"Don't worry, you don't have to forward any apology for stumbling over the very utterance of my rather unusual name. Apparently, my parents named me after the Portuguese word for "sea," as both my father and mother were avid travelers, flying from Amazonas to Santa Caterina and from Pará to Rio Grande do Sul. They always held the view of the sea from a cliff in high regard, seeing it as majestic in nature."

"How lovely," Eduardo replied, before deciding abruptly to change the subject of the conversation. "Do you by chance happen to know anybody present at this gathering bearing great wisdom and guidance? I listened in on the entire meeting, and I can safely say that the subject matter that was at hand made me regret ever venturing out there. I simply did not expect to receive a surge of trepidation throughout the rest of my day. Another question I might add is that, even though you have already mentioned your attendance to the Great Mouth meeting, weren't you one of the council members who also argued with Mateo Laranja?"

"You are certainly correct about me debating with Mateo. Like you, I did not experience something that I will likely remember favorably for the remainder of my days. When pertaining to finding someone with great wisdom, I would likely not serve as a great choice. My current occupations amount to serving as a warrior and a strategist for César, whose job involves playing a game of chance and hopefully not losing countless Tribal warriors in a battle. Philosophy and social advisory unfortunately, do not play a part in that game of chance. However, there are numerous other birds amongst us that would talk to you about what you seek."

"In that case, who would you personally recommend?" Eduardo asked.

"The answer is quite simple," Mar replied slowly. "Whomever it is that _you_ already consider to be possessive of wisdom, though I would advise you personally not to base your decision upon those who were present at the meeting, as barely any of us spoke. Viriato, the one who early on mentioned yellow fever, is teaching new chicks about the Tribe's history. Dinis is off several kilometers to the west, experimenting with his intriguing idea of using rotten fruit stuffed with bullet ants as a weapon."

"Isn't Mateo also present?" Eduardo asked. In response, Mar mumbled to himself for several moments, whilst simultaneously looking up at the pitch-black night sky before focusing his eyes back on Eduardo and answering the question.

"Mateo is indeed present," he sighed, his head hanging for a second or two as he spoke. "Despite my personal opinions towards that senile and impertinent fool, it is inarguable that he may carry a valid argument or two when concerning the rumors telling what the Scarlets currently bear as weaponry. They may just be rumors, though yet again, some rumors are not to be ignored. As a little tip of advice, don't even utter any words that he may perceive as rude, unless of course, you find frustration pleasurable, which I imagine you do not. I've lost count of the number of times he's ruffled my feathers."

"I am utterly dumbfounded after the mayhem he ensued, you would recommend anything having to do with him other than solitary confinement!" Mimi exclaimed in an astonished manner.

Mar smiled at Mimi in response, before carrying on the conversation. "As much as your father despises his self-esteem and confidence being challenged, he fears that at any given moment within a serious event such as the ones playing out amongst us, Mateo may prove him wrong, though he will never admit that," Mar replied, shifting his focus for a brief period towards two attendees to the council taking flight from the tree. "The day Mateo leaves the council and your father's group of advisors and critics is going to be on the same day when he takes his last breath, for that very reason. Value is not to be underestimated in macaws who are even old enough to remember Jacinto the Fourth, let alone serve him."

"Quite true," Mimi remarked, before speaking to her brother mere moments later. "Eddy, have you bothered to have made up your mind yet?" Silent while still in thought, her younger brother stood still for several odd seconds or so, before suggesting to both his older sister and Mar his decision.

"If we can find Alberto first and engage in discussion with him, I believe that would be best," he announced. "Afterward, we can attempt to engage in conversation with Mateo, that is, if he isn't too irritable towards us the second he sees our faces."

"You do know Mar just suggested to you to talk out your issues with someone bearing wisdom, not one of your friends, right?" Mimi objected, both her brows slanting downward in aggravation.

"Seriously?" Eduardo hissed, his entire upper body simultaneously lunging forward by several inches in anger. "He is the chief messenger! I am certain that if Mateo of all of birds was able to pick up those rumors, Alberto probably has at least something to say about them as well! It would be quite helpful to obtain some new insight on such unsettling things, and as Mateo was the only other bird who attended the council to take them seriously, aside from Mar, talking to anybody else concerning the matter would be of no use! Take your pick, Mimi! It's either starting off by standing in the presence of a friend or a macaw who is widely considered repulsive and caused great havoc today, despite his vast knowledge. Which one is it going to be?"

Mimi felt her heart jump inside of her at her brother's speaking tone, her eyes widening in fear for several seconds. After Eduardo had demanded an answer from her, she stood still for another three odd seconds, before taking in a deep breath of the air and proceeding to mumble her answer. Her eyes simultaneously stared down at the surface of the branch, deliberately avoiding eye contact with her brother. This was regarded as a highly impolite gesture within the Spix's Macaw culture, unless engaging in a conversation carrying a romantic context. "Very well then, I'll take the former."

"You _will_ take the former?" Eduardo mocked, both leaning several inches forward once again and smirking at his sister as he spoke. "Well, no kidding that you would choose the former decision over the latter! I doubt even a reasonably naïve chick would choose to talk to Mateo first, even if they were offered some delicious fruit!"

"Pardon me, but I would _highly_ suggest that both of you cease your intolerable attitudes!" Mar yelled at both siblings, his beak bearing a very stern expression. Mimi now stood silently, staring at Mar, while Eduardo turned around, deliberately coughing into his wing in an attempt to shrug off some of the embarrassment that he had brought upon himself. A moment later, Mar finally spoke again, his stern expression largely disappearing, though his brows were still at a slight slant, the frustrated look he displayed still not completely absent. "In a civil manner, may one or both of you please explain what you have ultimately decided?"

"I have made the decision to speak with Alberto Guava," Eduardo answered. "Earlier, my sister informed me that he would attend the meeting. Surely, he hasn't already left, hasn't he?"

"He is indeed still present," Mar replied, which in turn brought Eduardo a sense of relief. "When Guava arrived here, I saw both him and his love interest of sorts fly over there." Mar then paused for a moment, turning to the left and extending out his wing and pointing in that direction, before resuming his conversation. "However, I wish you good luck trying to find him. There are so many macaws that have attended that I am quite frankly awestruck."

"Alright, so he is located over there, correct?" Eduardo said, attempting to reaffirm the answer he had collected, pointing in the same general direction Mar had pointed to just seconds earlier.

"Yes," Mar sighed, nodding towards where he had pointed. "Before you even ask, Mateo is located several meters above us near the leafy tops of the tree, as he is apparently discussing several important matters with a group of three or four sentries. Are there any more questions to be had?"

"I am afraid that our minds our currently absent of any more requests," Mimi responded in a polite fashion. Her brother remained silent, believing that it would be rather pointless to say anything more to add on to what her sister had just answered.

"Splendid," Mar replied, then abruptly bearing a sense of sudden nervousness within his eyes after speaking that word and continuing. "Now please, I must speak with a few elders who I believe are waiting for me to arrive at their presence. Off you go!"

" _Obrigado!_ " Mimi and Eduardo both thanked gratefully in unison, both siblings also bearing looks of satisfaction on their beaks. Afterward, Mimi shifted to the right side of the branch using her feet, before eventually facing away from the tree, lifting up her wings several inches above her neck for the sake of balance, with Eduardo following suite mere moments later. Eduardo and then Mimi began to extend their wings for the purpose of flight, and about eight seconds afterward, Mimi followed by Eduardo made swift leaps from off the branch, ascending into the air about a second or two following their talons' release of the branch.

"I very much appreciate your gratitude, goodbye!" Mar called back as the two siblings left the branch, waving his right wing at them. Several moments later, he took a deep breath, before proceeding to turn around as well, catapulting himself straight up into the air by wing, and making his way onto one of the branches located at the top of the tree to speak with the elders he had previously spoken of.

Within about six or seven seconds of staying in flight, the two birds then angled their right wings upward and angled their left wings downward, allowing them to turn in a leftward direction within the air with ease. In turn, this made the entire other half of the large tree come into view within only a few odd seconds. However, it would take another several seconds for both birds to tilt rightward, which once accomplished allowed them to observe the tree far easier, as they were now flying in the air in a flat position. Similar to the other side of the tree where the two macaws had once stood, dozens of macaws arranged in groups of four or five spoke to one another, and also similar was the immense cheering from the macaws who managed to spot Eduardo and Mimi. The only noticeable differentiation between approaching the tree's two halves was that this time, not a single macaw could be seen bowing.

Rather than deciding on where to land, Eduardo and Mimi simply flew at a very slow (almost gliding) speed, still examining each and every macaw in sight from a distance of some forty feet away. It came with significant disappointment to Eduardo at every bird who bore a similar appearance to Alberto with their backside turned but was ultimately revealed to be a different macaw just seconds later when they eventually turned their heads backward for Eduardo to see. Most of the birds that did appear similar to Alberto were indeed females, which was unsurprising, due to Alberto's appearance not held by many other male macaws within the Tribe.

Mimi did the same as her brother, though for a moment she turned her focus to the night sky again, before continuing to observe the tree. Like her brother, she had thus far only seen a great many birds who looked similar to the macaw they both sought. Eduardo then slightly ascended by approximately one or two inches, blinking for a moment and facing forward, before resuming his search for his friend at the tree.

For almost another two full minutes, both siblings' nearly-constant observations of the tree were devoid of any success, until suddenly, Eduardo managed to spot a male macaw of tall stature bearing turquoise feathers, green eyes, and a very large curved beak, which posed as instantly recognizable as Alberto Guava. Now, Alberto appeared to be standing on a branch close to the leafy treetops near the center of the tree, speaking with several macaws who stood upon branches that encircled the one that Alberto stood upon. In addition to this, another two macaws who were not very clearly visible to Eduardo nor Mimi also stood along the same branch as Alberto. After Eduardo had spotted him, he turned his head toward Mimi, announcing his presence. "I believe that we have at last found Alberto!"

"Finally!" Mimi exclaimed, her focus turning from the tree towards her brother. "I've grown quite tired of flying around this whole day! Let's go!"

"Indeed," Eduardo remarked, smiling at his sister simultaneously. Upon that word's exit from Eduardo's beak, he angled his wings in a proper turning position once again, soon afterward making his turn to the left, now heading towards the tree rather than continue to fly in a circular pattern around it.

Mimi followed suite several seconds later, and a second or two afterward, both Eduardo and Mimi significantly increased their speed within the air, while at the same time, dramatically descending in preparation for yet another easy landing. Eventually, once the two birds were some ten feet away from where Alberto stood, their wingbeats pounding upon the air surrounding them could be heard. As they grew ever closer to the tree, the more macaws took notice of them and were subsequently seen cheering and clapping at their approach.

Alberto, who had just seconds prior been debating with one of his friends and fellow Tribal warriors named Muniz over an issue concerning the arrangement of sentries in the Açaí Grove, turned his attention towards Eduardo and Mimi. The two siblings then hovered in the air for a few moments upon reaching a two-foot distance from the closest branch, (of which was beside the one Alberto and the two other macaws behind him stood along) before swiftly forwarding their talons from where they had previously hung in the air inactive, landing along the branch. As Eduardo had been the first to make his approach towards the tree, he landed first, and Mimi landed approximately three seconds after him.

For the next several moments, following the two birds' landing on the empty branch, Alberto gulped, bearing the typical look of fear upon his beak that he usually displayed whenever nervous. It was soon afterward when Eduardo came to understand Alberto's expression of fear at the sight of him; after all, both Alberto and Verde had abandoned Eduardo at the Great Mouth only several hours prior. As Eduardo usually carried with him a hot temper, he automatically assumed Alberto expected nothing less than wave after wave of furious bellowing. After another few moments of silence between all of the birds, Alberto then spoke, his look of fear soon afterward vanishing, his beak now expressing little emotion at all.

"Hello, Eduardo… I sincerely apologize -" he began, before Eduardo almost immediately afterward interrupted him.

"You don't have to apologize, Alberto. In fact, I am now starting to regret my decision of eavesdropping at the Great Mouth; I know, I would have eventually been told by my father or mother about the entire issue, but, I was certainly not prepared for what I heard. You do indeed know what I speak of, right?"

"Yes," Alberto sighed, his head hanging for a moment. "Even though I was long gone by that time, one of my friends whose name I shall not disclose also happened to be eavesdropping on the council meeting, though he was doing so from the opposite end of the Great Mouth from where we were observing. He told me everything. To be perfectly honest, I was not too surprised at the decision that was made, considering César's desperate attempts recently at impressing the elders who grow ever the more nostalgic by the day for Almir the Great. Nonetheless, I was still distraught, and consequently, I arrived here to put all of my woes aside. Trust my word, you are certainly not alone in your sorrow."

"I am glad to know," Eduardo remarked, before leaning to the left and catching sight of the two macaws who stood behind Alberto, one of whom was easily recognizable as Verde. However, the other was a female Spix's Macaw that Eduardo had never seen before. Almost instantaneously, Eduardo assumed that this female macaw was indeed the girlfriend named Costa that Alberto had spoken about hours earlier. After resuming his straight standing posture along the branch, Eduardo opened his beak, asking Alberto about the female macaw behind him. "Is that your maiden Costa standing behind you?"

"She certainly is!" Alberto answered, his beak suddenly making a transition from holding an expression conveying little to no emotion to a genuine, yet awkward smile. He then turned towards her and leaned forward, his beak only an inch or so away from touching her left shoulder. After whispering to her in an inaudible manner for several seconds, he proceeded to turn towards an empty space on the branch just a foot or so forward. Soon afterward, Alberto swiftly leaped off the surface of the branch he had stood on, now gliding towards the branch he had for a moment before been facing, before finally landing on the new branch, and turning back around to face Eduardo and Mimi.

The macaw maiden Costa bore a very peculiar pair of hazel eyes that gleamed like starlight, this effect as well as her eyes' overall color combined resulted in her eyes bearing great resemblance to the color of tree sap. The feathers along both her neck and the underside of her wings were a beautiful cloud-white, and the feathers along her chest as well as her legs possessed a similar cerulean color to Eduardo and Mimi's feathers on their bodies.

All other feathers on her body ranging from her head, to her backside, and to her tail feathers, as well as the upper portion of her wings were a very distinctive dark-blue, a trait rarely held by a female. Her black beak was similar in shape to Alberto's, (a long, curved beak was also quite rare for a female Spix's Macaw to possess) though it was significantly smaller than his in both height and diameter. An array of short feathers located on the back of her head sloped downward along the back of her neck, then rising upward at an approximate ninety-degree angle. As she faced Eduardo and Mimi, a very charming smile appeared on her beak, before finally introducing herself.

"It is such a pleasure to meet you!" Costa declared, her voice bearing a sense of both sweetness and enthusiasm, whilst her hazel eyes now bore a sense of excitement. "Although you already know my name, I will still introduce myself as Costa Palmeiro as I introduce myself to everyone else."

"Palmeiro?" Eduardo asked, his right brow rising in curiosity. "The last time I've ever heard of another macaw in possession of that surname was several years ago."

"Is it surprising?" Costa responded. "I am quite a rare bird all around."

"If you are indeed a rare bird, I am assuming many other macaws around you always stare at you?" Mimi inquired sharply.

"Indeed, that is true. When Alberto arrived at my hollow approximately three hours ago, he was nothing short of a gibbering wreck. Some twenty minutes following his arrival, he reluctantly discussed with me everything concerning the events in the Great Mouth, as well as the massive scolding he received from César. By the end of that conversation, I honestly felt just as petrified at that moment as he was. To put to rest both of our fears of possibly losing each other over an issue pertaining to either a mistake or a highly likely conflict, we flew to the Cachoeira Cintilante, a small waterfall that stands several kilometers from here. There were numerous other macaws amongst us, and I did in fact attract many stares due to my unconventional appearance. An hour afterward, Alberto suggested that we attend this fabulous meeting, and I accepted, obviously."

"My sympathies go out to both of you," Verde remarked abruptly. "I was expecting for a conflict to eventually arise out of the recent events taking place within the Scarlet Tribe, but nonetheless, I was horrified at the news all the same."

"Thank you," Costa said, turning around for a brief period to face Verde, before focusing back onto the two siblings. For a few moments, silence encompassed the group of macaws, until Mimi finally broke it, directing her attention towards Alberto.

"At the council meeting, Mateo Laranja spoke of rumors he had heard that concern the possibility of the Scarlet Tribe somehow obtaining armaments of human craftsmanship. Do you know anything about these rumors, Alberto?"

"I witnessed the Scarlets testing them in the jungle. On one of my assigned night patrols about a week following the ousting of José, I camouflaged myself in mud and infiltrated the Scarlet Macaw Tribe over the course of about two hours after dawn, flying near the border of the Amazon River during the duration of the patrol. For a while at least, I had encountered nothing of interest, until I eventually came into contact with a group of twenty Scarlet Macaws on patrol. I leaned against a tree standing only ten or so meters away from the river. To avoid the risk of being spotted by the sentries, I decided to only listen to what the Scarlets were saying, rather than watching what they were up to. After fifteen minutes of waiting, I heard many footsteps, and then a sudden _clunk!_ "

"You didn't actually see anything?" Eduardo questioned.

"Correct," Alberto continued. "Fascinated by both the many footsteps as well as the strange sound, I listened intently for a little while longer, before a macaw bearing a middle-aged voice asked "'What is this? A deformed branch painted with mud?"' Then, he was met with an answer from a macaw bearing a younger voice that explained it was a human weapon they had stolen from a small floating hollow some five kilometers north, which according to them, the humans call "rowboats." The younger macaw also explained to him how they had stolen the weapon, by assembling a group of around thirty macaws and swarming the rowboat, using their beaks as weapons against the two humans inside of the boat. Following two minutes of struggle, the humans were forced to abandon the boat and subsequently swam like mad to the shallows leading into the jungle, out of fear of being killed by the local arapaimas or piranhas."

"You said earlier that they tested them?" Eduardo asked.

"Ah, yes! Thank you for the reminder! Moving on, after the younger macaw finished explaining to the older macaw how all thirty of the group had managed to carry the weapon using their talons, the older macaw asked for the weapon to be demonstrated, and that if he was pleased, he would ask Caetano to grant leave to all thirty of the warriors. For a few more minutes, the Scarlets attempting to demonstrate the weapon were constantly struggling and mumbling to one another, constantly asking each other that they had any idea what this and that was. After ten further minutes, they finally demonstrated the weapon for the older macaw. The sound that it made could only be described as the roars of a many jaguars in rapid succession. After about another five minutes, I heard the Scarlets fly away, though I decided not to look at the weapon out of fear that a few more Scarlets might have still been guarding it. Following my return to César, he simply scoffed at my verbal report, insisting I had probably just had a dream."

"Of course, my father would insist that, why wouldn't he?" Mimi groaned, before turning to Eduardo for a moment. "On the bright side, at least we don't have to speak with Mateo." Her brother sighed in relief in response, though just a couple of seconds afterward, he began trembling wildly. Both Alberto and Costa bore concerned looks on their beaks at this, and Mimi wrapped her right wing around her brother's chest, as well as placing her left wing upon his shoulder. Eduardo eventually did stand straight again a couple of minutes later, though he still breathed quite heavily for several further moments, and Mimi still supported him with her wings. He then spoke to her, almost panting at the mere words he had listened to.

"Mimi, I believe that we should both head home and rest." At this, Mimi displayed an expression of disappointment, as she still wanted to speak with Alberto and Costa, even possibly Verde. For a moment, she was plagued with internal unrest, turning her focus every few seconds between Eduardo and Costa, until Costa finally settled the issue verbally.

"Close to noon, we can all speak again at the Cachoeira Cintalente. At your current situation, I will not take any offense to your abrupt departure. Now, please, go if you wish. Our emotional ordeals are likely far greater than yours."

"Thank you," both Eduardo and Mimi said in unison. After another several moments, Mimi retracted her wings from Eduardo's chest and shoulder, the latter of the two siblings now requiring no assistance to stand properly. Both birds then slowly turned around towards the night sky, readying for takeoff from the branch. Eduardo then turned his head towards Alberto and Costa, wishing them goodbye.

" _Tchau!_ " After Eduardo had said this to the two macaws, both Alberto and Costa smiled at them, and Eduardo merrily laughed for a few seconds, before turning back around. A few moments later, Mimi followed by Eduardo spread out their wings and released their grip on the branch once again, making their way home over the course of some forty odd minutes.

Luckily, upon arrival, their parents were absent from the hollow, as they were attending yet another meeting in the Great Mouth, though the meeting lasted only a few minutes. Both siblings believed that by the time they awoke in the morning, much of their sorrows for the time being would be lost.

 _ **Author's Fact of the Day:**_

 _ **Throughout this story, the narration uses the customary US systems of measurement, though when characters use measurement, the metric system is used. This was done intentionally by the author to retain accuracy to reality, as Brazil uses the metric system.**_


	8. Somnolence at the Hollow

Almost seven hours had passed since Eduardo and Mimi's early return to the Torres Tree the night before, following Eduardo's need to take a rest after being spoken to by Alberto about the Scarlet Macaw Tribe's human-crafted weapon they had stolen. Approximately ten minutes after the two siblings' return to the hollow, both César and Eduarda had also made their return to the hollow, having attended another meeting in the Great Mouth consisting of only twenty council members rather than the typical one-hundred.

The meeting had been concerning the topic of how practical stood the idea of using rotten fruit stuffed with the jungle's infamous bullet ants as weapons against the Scarlets in the hypothetical conflict still making its gradual approach. The idea had been forwarded to César at approximately the same time Eduardo and Mimi had made their exit from the Árvore do Amor by Dinis, who was both a regular attendee for council meetings held in the Great Mouth, and a patrol leader who was frequently assigned to training new sentries, as well as new warriors.

Both César and Eduarda at the meeting argued that in order for the weapon to stand as a useful asset in the case of conflict, the piece of fruit would have to be situated on the end of a sharp branch, and that the fruit would have to be rammed into an enemy macaw's stomach. However, this posed the very possible danger of the bullet ants crawling out from the where they had been inserted into the fruit and stinging the weapon's bearer. Ultimately, the decision was made by César not to further develop Dinis' idea due to these two potentially fatal flaws. This decision in turn, automatically concluded the meeting, allowing both the Patriarch and Matriarch to return home, both of whom decided not to say a word to either of their children upon their arrival, nor had they sported any stern or even disappointed looks upon their beaks.

Throughout much of the night while the Torres Family had been sleeping, Eduardo had unfortunately been subject to a multitude of periods of up to five or six minutes each that had consisted of almost-constant spastic movements as a result of nightmares that had been brewing within his mind. This was especially uncomfortable due to the hollowed-out stone surfaces he continuously came into physical contact with. One of the convulsions in his wings he had experienced in the middle of the night as a result of his nightmares had even hit against the bottom of the stone bed Mimi slept along, subsequently awakening her.

When Mimi had been accidentally awoken by her brother, she had sat in her stone bed upright for close to ten minutes, spending four of which scanning her blurry surroundings, in order to find out what had awoken her. After having assumed Eduardo had awoken her, she had simply let out a sigh, having decided that making conflict with her troubled brother in the middle of the night did not stand as a wise idea. She had also noticed after having looked in the direction of her parents' beds that they were once again absent from the hollow.

Unbeknownst to her, both César and Eduarda had been summoned from the hollow by Mar almost half an hour earlier to attend yet another council meeting discussing future macaw patrol routes along the border separating the Spix's Macaw and Scarlet Macaw Tribes. The patrol routes of which that had been discussed at the meeting concerned those that would be carried out across the entire Tribe following César's planned initial attack along the Amazon River he had called for at the first Great Mouth meeting that had taken place the previous day. After all, even if his rather ambitious plan did result in a swift victory, a period of either short or long-term instability within the Scarlet Tribe could eventually pass into the Spix's Macaw Tribe's borders as an unintended consequence.

Though Mar originally intended for the meeting to stand at a length of only twenty to thirty minutes before everyone was to be dismissed, it was soon following the beginning of the meeting that the groups of sentries guarding each fruit grove belonging to the Tribe were grossly inadequate in size. As a result, Mar had then suggested to both César and Eduarda to return to their hollow and address the issue at least a few hours past sunrise.

However, César had insisted to Mar that the problem concerning the fruit groves was an urgent one, and in turn, both him and Mar travelled across every fruit grove in the Tribe, intending to recruit young macaws into becoming new sentries. Matriarch Eduarda, on the other hand, declined her mate's offer to accompany him, instead choosing to stay at Mar's hollow for the rest of the night, as it was only a minute or so's distance from the Great Mouth. Unfortunately, César and Mar had shared meager success in their recruitment efforts. By the end of it all, they had only managed to convince twenty-four macaws to fight for them.

Whilst these events had far away from her occurred, Mimi had spent the next six minutes mentally speculating about the now seemingly-inevitable conflict with the Scarlet Macaw Tribe, still holding onto a shred of hope that the situation would end in a peaceful agreement rather than an all-out war, before finally lying back down along her bed and resuming her sleep. A mere several minutes afterward, Eduardo had finally awoken as well, though he fell back into his slumber within another several odd minutes. Fortunately, for the rest of the night, he did not hold any more nightmares, which as a result allowed Eduardo to sleep not only without interruption, but without the constant convulsions as well.

The time presently stood at approximately 5:30 AM, and overlooking the rainforest half an hour prior, had been a faint-blue sky devoid of clouds or much light. However, as twilight had begun, the sky had made its transition to what resembled one of the many variations of the gorgeous paintings made of fruit juice and the powder from numerous orchids found along the entrances to residences which had recently brought a new Spix's Macaw into the world. Arched streaks of bright purple, a mixture of faint-blue and white, as well as a marvelous ocean-blue rested upon one another in that particular order, from just above where the trees of the Amazon grew tallest to the highest point visible in the sky.

Still lying along his bed of stone within the Torres Tree, Eduardo still slept in a very peaceful fashion, a dramatic improvement over not only over the state in which he had slept prior to waking up in the middle of the night, but also the state in which he had been sleeping for the past several days. His feathered head for a brief period suddenly risen from its sideways position along the cluster of jungle foliage used as a head cushion, before settling back down to its original position. Subsequently, this small movement of his head along the foliage it had rested upon brought to him the instinct to awake from his sleep.

Following the passing of another forty-five seconds, Eduardo's eyelids then opened, the light from the twilight sky making its way into the hollow entrance, now entering his eyes. A few seconds later, he opened his beak, taking a large breath of the air surrounding him. Several further seconds afterward, he let out all of the air his lungs had just gathered, the air of which passed several inches ahead of his beak.

Now coming to the full realization that he was indeed awake, Eduardo then proceeded to extend both of his wings outward in the direction of where the hollow entrance stood. Within several more moments, he raised his left wing that at that moment protruded out from under the base of his older sister's stone bed, before retracting it back to where it had been a few minutes prior.

A moment or two later, he made good use of his left wing, using his wingtips to slowly, but efficiently cleanse his eyes of the many dried bits of rheum that encircled them. After breathing again, he made the conscious decision to start the day early, rather than sleeping for another two or three hours as he thought originally would stand as a wise decision.

Because of this new decision, he blinked several more times, then afterward following the usual process of getting himself out from his bed, once again using his wingtips on both wings to prop himself up, before proceeding to then turn himself toward the hollow entrance, (also using his wingtips.) He then pushed himself forward from where he sat, allowing his feet to touch the ground beneath him.

After placing his feet back on the floor of the hollow, he turned his head to the left, noticing the absence of his parents almost immediately afterward, exactly as how he had awoken with his parents absent from the hollow the previous morning. Eduardo then turned his head toward the hollow entrance once again, and after realizing that it was almost certainly twilight due to the faint coloration of the sky, he sat still for a moment, his beak bearing an expression of puzzlement.

Up until now, the only occasions his parents had ever made their exit from the hollow at such an early point in the morning were on the days featuring ceremonies commemorating gravid females linked to the Torres Family. This was in accordance to Tribal customs, which set the belief that if the gravid mother's commemorative ceremony was held near sunrise, the unborn macaw would be blessed with higher intelligence once hatched by Selva. However, these ceremonies were usually held only twice or thrice every year, and when they did take place, César would always inform both Eduardo and Mimi the previous night about his and Eduarda's morning flight.

Once he had placed aside his thoughts of utter confusion at his parents' unusually early departure from the hollow, Eduardo proceeded to get himself back on his feet, despite his current state standing as certainly less than invigorating. At an abrupt moment mere seconds afterward, Mimi's voice called to him from outside the hollow entrance. Contrary to what he had expected as soon as her voice had become audible, she called to him in a very pleasant tone, rather than a demanding one. "Eduardo, I highly suggest you take the time to enjoy this magnificent sunrise!"

Following his sister's request for him to stand outside of the hollow entrance, he blinked again numerous times in a row, before taking a dozen or so steps towards the entrance. Within six steps, he was able to take notice of his sister waiting upon his arrival to the inside of the entrance, standing along the same branch Eduardo had stood along when he had been engaged in discussion with Alberto and Verde the previous day. Once he had made his way to the lip of the entrance, he first raised his right and then left legs over the lip, maintaining his balance for several seconds, before firmly grasping the branch using his talons, as he did with every branch he stood upon.

Mimi was now situated along almost the very edge of the branch, with Eduardo standing at least a foot or so behind from where she stood. His sister then turned her head towards him, her right wing pointing upward in the direction of the sky. In accordance to his sister's visual suggestion, he then directed his focus towards the sky, now standing completely still as he gazed in awe at the sheer beauty he witnessed, as the sun rose from beneath the surface of the rainforest canopy.

The sun currently appeared more of a yellow rather than the usual orange it displayed, and its wide rays of equally-yellow light that spread outward from both the left and right sides of the sun appeared to be slightly offset. As they usually did, the leftward set of rays stood offset in an upward direction whilst the rightward set of rays stood offset in a downward direction respectively. An enormous gathering of gray clouds now rested above the shining sun (as well as numerous stray clouds that stood a long distance apart from the upwards gathering of clouds) surrounded the sun in other directions; these included both sideways directions as well as from beneath the sun's position in the sky.

Suddenly, following the passing of another five or six minutes comprised of little more than observation of the rising sun on the part of the siblings, Eduardo spoke in a rather soft tone, looking towards the sun as he opened his beak, his eyes now focused towards Mimi, though his head and the rest of his body were still directly facing the direction of the sun. "Lest we forget our visit to the waterfall Alberto and Costa said where they would meet us, or we get caught up in something else, we might as well enjoy the sunrise while it lasts."

Mimi then shifted her attention towards Eduardo for a few seconds, turning around to face him once again, accomplishing this by carefully positioning her feet forward of where she had faced the rainforest seconds prior. Several seconds afterward, she then spoke as well, speaking in the same soft tone of voice her brother had spoken in just moments prior. "Hopefully, our day will proceed as planned."

"As do I," Eduardo said in response, before pausing for a few moments and then continuing to speak to his sister. "In the meantime, however, I would suggest that we get back inside sooner or later. I can almost make the guarantee that Mom and Dad will make their return within an hour or so. Wait, you don't happen to know where they have head off to, do you?"

"Unfortunately, I can only guess that as a result of the looming conflict, our parents had to attend yet another meeting of sorts. As a matter of fact, I woke up in the middle of the night, noticing that they were already absent from their beds by then. I will simply assume that whatever meeting that has been attended to by our parents had to have concerned a topic of great importance. Since our parents are still absent, we may have a small chance of eavesdropping on this meeting as well."

"I would rather not," Eduardo replied, now sporting a look of fear. "As we have already heard of Dad's plan for his decisive invasion which will likely lead to an utter bloodbath, there is little more we could gather that would serve the least bit useful. Even if the meeting is still taking place, we have no idea how much longer the meeting will stand, which could easily interfere with our arranged meeting with Alberto and his lovely maiden."

At his brother's answer, Mimi would have normally bore a dumbfounded expression on her beak at her brother's refusal to eavesdrop on one of their father's meetings, though due to the events that had taken place the previous day, she did not find his answer all that surprising. Rather, she giggled, particularly at the last several words of her brother's last sentence. "Lovely maiden," was a term that in almost every neotropical parrot culture within the Amazon, was usually only used by the female macaw's male love interest.

This short period of giggling was met by a genuine smile from Eduardo, who had automatically assumed that his comment concerning Costa was what Mimi had found humorous; after all, having lived with Mimi his entire life, he held a great understanding of her sense of humor. Eventually, within another few moments, Mimi abandoned the serious subject matter that they had been discussing, as she simply could not resist teasing her brother over his comment about Costa.

"Do you happen to hold some sort of jealousy of Alberto?" Mimi laughed, whilst she began leaning several inches forward from where she stood.

In reaction to this question, the color of Eduardo's feathery cheeks made an abrupt transition from a light cerulean to an orchid-pink, whilst on his beak, Eduardo sported a charming, sheepish grin. After the passing of another few seconds, he made a brief verbal response to Mimi's question. "I suppose since Alberto has always been striking luck, his relationship with Costa just serves as another example of his luck. Now when concerning whether or not I hold any jealousy of him, yes I do, and although I am ashamed of it, I can't help but declare it - Costa is indeed a beautiful macaw."

Mimi stood still for a moment, her eyes looking down upon the forest floor that stood beneath them, her tongue rolled upwards on the inside of her beak, touching her beak's upper portion, in an unsuccessful attempt to lessen the sound of her stifled laughter. Her beak was now in a twisted grin, and as a result of her intense stifled laughter, her cheeks turned almost the same shade of pink borne by her brother's cheeks just moments prior. This was met with a much wider grin from her brother.

Following the passing of another several moments, Mimi's grin disappeared, as well as the redness in her cheeks. Even seconds after her stifled laughter had ceased, she still chuckled over the course of a few odd seconds as she opened her beak, deciding to shift the subject matter of the conversation rather than advancing the subject matter already at hand.

Just a moment or so before she spoke to her brother concerning a more serious matter, she leaned backward by several inches, whilst the grin upon Eduardo's beak also disappeared. "Moving on, one thing I would like to ask, is that when our parents return to the hollow, do you believe that we should apologize for our mischief and eavesdropping, or not?"

"I would certainly argue for the former. Although it would not come as a surprise to me whatsoever if Dad bore a furious tone within his voice, I would certainly prefer being subject to another one of his lectures sooner than later. As I am already anticipating quite a few events I predict will result in disaster, expanding that list of negative events for the future would stand as unnecessary."

"Agreed. I highly suggest we keep ourselves inside for a while. After all, neither of us know when our parents will make their return; they may be here in two or three minutes, or they may be here in two or three hours. If by chance the latter of the two is the case, we still must retain our patience, even if we face the urge to search for them. Also, it would be best to catch some rest anyway, rather than simply lingering here, wasting our valuable time."

Although Eduardo fully agreed with this statement on the part of his sister, he did not say anything in response for at least twenty or so seconds. He tapped his talons on the branch for a moment, before finally giving his answer to Mimi's suggestion. "Very well then, let's go back inside, shall we?"

"Indeed," Mimi said in response to this. After this word, the two Torres siblings simply exchanged nods for a brief period, before Eduardo, over the course of ten odd seconds, turned back towards the direction of the hollow entrance, using his feet in the same manner Mimi had used hers to turn towards him several minutes earlier. For a few more seconds, he drowsily shuffled along the branch before he soon afterward took full steps forward, eventually raising one leg after the other over the lip of the entrance, reentering the hollow as soon as his left leg had touched the floor within the hollow.

As Mimi had already been facing the direction of the hollow entrance for several minutes, she simply took about a dozen steps forward from where she stood along the branch, raising her legs over the entrance lip in the same fashion as her brother had done. Almost immediately after both siblings had made their way back into the inside of their regal home, Eduardo turned to Mimi, forwarding several further thoughts concerning their apology to either one or both of their parents he had held within his mind that he had forgotten to speak about outside.

"Bear in mind that when we do express our apologies, we mustn't lie about a single thing we did yesterday. I have a feeling that if either of us fabricate any slight detail, the ramming you subjected me to will not likely serve as a sufficient barrier against Dad's fury."

"Even worse, was that if that will be the case, those few minutes I spent stalking you in the rainforest and proceeding to ram you, plus all that time spent with you caught up in those dastardly vines would prove to have wasted our time," Mimi remarked, bearing a humorous tone within her voice. At this, Eduardo couldn't help but crack a genuine smile. Afterward, both macaws turned away from one another and faced their beds, Eduardo stepping forward first, reaching his bed within a few seconds, and Mimi reached her bed several seconds after him.

They then spent the next two or so minutes climbing back into bed, though as Mimi's bed was higher from off the ground than her brother's, she took a considerably longer amount of time to accomplish this, which stood as the case for almost every preceding instance of the two siblings climbing back into bed. It was soon after that when both Eduardo and Mimi lied along their stone beds, anticipating that they would fall asleep within a few minutes.

For approximately the next five minutes, they still lied along their beds, concentrating mentally on fantasies of theirs that featured images they found beautiful; Eduardo pictured himself staring at the sun as it set from a view of dry land that stood next to the shallows of the Amazon River. The sun's reflection created an orange, shimmering beam just inches forward from where he stood on the ground, and many of the clouds that hovered above where the sun slowly dipped behind the rainforest bore an almost orange glow.

His sister instead pictured herself and her friends near her favorite waterfall to visit, named the Cachoeira Esperançosa. Within Mimi's fantasy, she also pictured herself placing her feet in the cool water of the stream created by the waterfall, her friends chattering amongst themselves as each of her individual toes met the relaxing sensation of the cool, calm water that flowed in between them.

Still, despite that the only thing that could be heard from outside of the hollow was the whistling produced by the soft morning wind, (few macaws stood awake so early in the morning) all of these efforts forwarded by both siblings in order to resume their sleep were cheated, as the sensation of sleep never passed over them. For almost twenty further minutes, the passing of time within the hollow seemed utterly stagnant.

Figuring that speaking to his sister to pass the time would be best in order to deter the immense boredom that currently surrounded him, Eduardo eventually used his wings to prop himself up from where he lied once again. After his entire upper body had risen in the air, whilst his wings still supported him, his eyes then fixed upon the underside of Mimi's bed. 

As his sister often fell asleep far earlier once entering bed, Eduardo doubted at first that she was awake, almost deciding to lie back down, his eyes shutting for a brief period. However, after letting out a quiet sigh, his eyes once again focused on the bed's underside, and out of curiosity to see whether she was indeed awake or not, he spoke to her in a rather low and soft tone. "Mimi?"

"Yes," his sister groaned in response, her brother's eyes almost immediately afterward widening in surprise at Mimi giving any sort of reply to his call almost. After a considerably long pause, Mimi kept on speaking, bearing an almost exhausted tone within her voice at her lack of adequate slumber. "Where on earth may lie our parents?"

"As neither of them have returned as of yet, I honestly cannot even make an assumption. Hopefully, either one of them or maybe both will make their return shortly rather than arriving three hours from now, as you had said they might some twenty minutes ago. If they maintain their absence following the next three hours, it is almost certain that I will embark on an attempt to search for them." 

"If I were you, I would not, or at least not by yourself. I would at least recommend a guide of sorts around the jungle. Obviously, as Alberto will be waiting for us within the span of anywhere from five to seven hours, we unfortunately have no viable options on hand."

"Well, if we are to meet Alberto near or past noon anyway, I am going to assume that the possibility of requesting his help would serve as a good suggestion."

"You do know that virtually every morning, he delivers messages from either César or one of the council members to numerous circles of elders and advisors concerning the latest events to have taken place within the Tribe, right?"

"He does? How is it so that I am the designated heir of the Patriarch of this Tribe, yet you are provided with so much more information?"

"In all honesty, I actually know of no answer to that question," Mimi replied.

"Pity," Eduardo remarked, his eyes now focused upon the floor. Several seconds afterward, his focus then shifted back once again to the underside of his sister's bed, the subject matter on Eduardo's mind also shifting as well as his visual focus. "Putting that aside, is there anything else you would like to say, concerning something that we haven't yet discussed?"

"Unfortunately, the current events surrounding myself differ little from yours, though a few days ago, I had spent two hours by the Amazon Basin with four of my friends."

"Which friends do you speak of? I can never seem to keep the names of your friends straight, no matter how much of my effort I devote to the subject."

"Felícia, Érica, Zita, and Julinha," Mimi answered. "You do remember them, right? They were the four friends of mine that accompanied us, on a trip to the Açaí Grove several years ago."

As Eduardo was not able to immediately recall those four names upon hearing them, he gave no answer for a brief period, leaving Mimi tempted to roll her eyes in frustration at what she considered to be her brother's poor memory. He then thought hard for a moment, and suddenly, he did indeed remember that one morning, on which him and his sister had been encouraged by their parents to engage in fun activities with their friends at the Açaí Grove. This was due to César and Eduarda's absence from the Torres Tree for the rest of that day, as they had been summoned by Patriarch Heitor of the Green-wing Macaw Tribe, in order to settle a dispute between the Green-wing and Chestnut-fronted Macaw Tribes concerning the access to an unclaimed maracujá grove situated some three miles away from the Spix's Macaw Tribe.

During that trip however, he had seldom spoke to any one of Mimi's four friends, except for Julinha, a macaw he remembered, stood at just two months older than himself and bore a joyful smile, as well as a delightful, humorous personality. He did also recall that Felícia had stood alongside him upon a branch belonging to a murumuru tree, using the tip of her beak to etch into the trunk of the tree a brief poem she had wished to present to Mimi.

The only thing Eduardo could remember concerning the poem Felícia had written was that it had possessed a very archaic vocabulary; most notably, the word "dost" was used several times, which in turn, had made Julinha crack a smile upon reading it. Unfortunately, Eduardo could remember very little about either Érica or Zita, though he had spoken to them several times throughout the trip. The last thing he could remember about that day was that he and Mimi had returned to the hollow some eight hours following their departure.

After he had sat along his bed completely silent for some two or so minutes, his memories pertaining to that day now regained, he abruptly spoke to Mimi concerning the matter. "Now that I have sat here for a short while, concentrated in thought, I now remember; it was indeed a pleasant time."

Mimi then wished to voice a reply which would concern the subject of Eduardo's opinions towards her friends, until suddenly, (almost as soon as she had opened her beak in preparation to speak) all else grew quiet as the sound of wings pounding upon the air could be heard off in the distance. As the sounds of multiple wings overlapped one another, it served as a clear sign that more than a single bird was approaching.

Mimi's head turned to her left, as did Eduardo's, intent on searching for what birds may have been making their approach. However, the limited view of the world outside of the hollow obstructed by the walls of the hollow entrance made catching sight of the birds impossible for the time being. As of yet, the only information that could be gathered by both siblings was the speed of which the birds were flying, determined by the rate that the birds flapped their wings per second, using only their ears.

Following the several seconds Eduardo and Mimi had spent listening carefully to each individual wingbeat, both assumed that they were flying at a moderate cruising speed. This was expected, as at such an early point in the morning where few macaws were flying about, there was no real need to fly at high speed. Both siblings soon afterward grew hopeful, anticipating that the macaws approaching were their parents. Upon hearing one of them speak in a very familiar, low-pitched voice that could easily be recognized as that of César's, both stood correct.

At the sound of his father's voice, Eduardo almost smiled in relief, though the smile that had begun forming along his beak disappeared only a second or so afterward, upon the realization that at his father and mother's return, he would have to commit to his decision he had made with Mimi earlier - apologizing to César for his mischief the previous day.

Eventually, the sound of Eduarda's high-pitched voice could also be heard, and even as she spoke, (her voice usually bearing enough sweetness to bring a smile to her son) Eduardo still held a disheartened stare directed towards the walls of the hollow, his heart sinking further and further within his chest as the sound of his parent's wings grew ever louder. Mimi's reaction to their parent's return was much less negative than that of her brother, though after several moments, she sighed, her head hanging in shame at her disobedience to her father's orders of returning to him much sooner than she had.

Towards the end of César and Eduarda's flight returning to the Torres Tree, the sound of their wingbeats could now be clearly heard. Shortly afterward, the sound produced by their wings coming into contact with the surrounding air with each individual flap dramatically changed, the rate of the sound increasing from two or three whistles of air to half a dozen per second. Another several moments had passed, and the sound of flapping wings had finally ceased.

The sound of light footsteps took the sound of the wingbeats' place, and after the sounds of some six or seven footsteps overlapping each other had followed, another several began echoing inside the hollow, until suddenly, César entered the entrance. The look he bore upon his beak at that moment displayed nothing less than pure lethargy, his wings barely holding their place along the sides of his body. His crest feathers were also quite ruffled, and his blue eyes, upon closer observation, appeared to be bloodshot.

When Eduarda followed her mate into the hollow, stepping inside several seconds after him, she appeared significantly less exhausted than César. Nonetheless, a pair of rings comprised of crusty rheum still encircled her eyelids. It was not until another several seconds afterward when César turned his head to his left. His eyes widening in surprise at his son and daughter's awoken state, in the same manner Eduardo's eyes had widened in surprise at Mimi's awoken state only less than ten minutes prior. After letting out a yawn almost immediately after taking notice of his children, he sighed, his eyes fixed on Eduardo as he spoke to both him and Mimi.

"Despite what you may think right now concerning my attitude towards your actions of eavesdropping on my meeting yesterday, I will not require that you express any apologizes; I, as a father, am sorry. By keeping that meeting within the Great Mouth secret, that did nothing but tempt you, Eduardo. I should have also reconsidered ordering Mimi to ram you. A surge of anger had passed over me, and as a result, I simply could not resist ordering such a punishment to be carried out by your own sister. You most likely received that pain in vain, as I probably would have revealed to you the truth anyway, some few days later. Tell Alberto that I will do no harm to his reputation, nor his relationship with Costa."

At his father's apology towards him, Eduardo could not help but bare an astounded expression upon his beak. Never would he have thought up until that moment that his wrathful and hot-tempered father would apologize to him over punishing him for eavesdropping on a secret council meeting. Mimi's reaction to her father's apology expressed towards her brother was nothing short of bewilderment, the lower portion of her beak hanging several inches beneath the upper portion of her beak, whilst she blinked numerous times, simply stunned.

However, Eduardo also held much confusion within his mind, as no one had ever told César nor Eduarda that Alberto had been the one responsible for leading him to the Great Mouth. Within only a few seconds, he voiced this question to his father, his wings that had been propping him up for the past ten minutes now sliding forward from where they stood as he lied back down along his bed. "How on earth did you discover that Alberto had led me there?"

Mimi's reaction to her father's apology expressed towards Eduardo was nothing short of bewilderment, the lower portion of her beak hanging several inches beneath the upper portion of her beak, whilst she blinked numerous times, simply stunned.

César then turned his focus away from his son for a moment, his head now turning to his right, in the direction of where Eduarda stood. After the Patriarch and Matriarch had exchanged nods with one another, Eduarda focused her attention towards her son, before proceeding to answer his question.

"Your father knew that you simply could not have evaded the sentries all throughout the jungle on your own, nor could have you reached the Great Mouth in time to eavesdrop on the meeting without some thorough knowledge of the routes leading to the Great Mouth, of which we both suspected you do not possess. He automatically assumed that it had to have been Alberto Guava. He is a great friend of yours after all."

After Eduarda had concluded her answer to her son's question, César's visual focus reverted to Eduardo, his head turning towards him in a very slow fashion, further expressing his drowsiness and lack of sleep unintentionally. Following yet another yawn on the part of César, a brief period of awkward silence existed between him and Eduardo, before he finally spoke to his son once again.

"Several minutes prior to our departure from a meeting we had been holding for God knows how long, a top advisor of mine named Mar Cão received word from another council member named Plínio, who this morning is tasked with organizing our messengers. Alberto was one of those messengers, explaining to Plínio that his schedule would be different than the usual. According to Plínio's report, he had said that while he could proceed with the usual delivery of messages to the rest of the council, he could unfortunately not participate in operations involving the rest of our messengers, intended to provide warning to the macaws inhabiting our fruit trade concessions in Manacapuru, Tefé, and Içana. His reason for this is because he is planning on meeting you at the Cachoeira Cintilante tomorrow at noon with Costa. Are you aware of this arrangement on the part of Alberto?"

"Indeed, I am," Eduardo replied, his head for a moment twisting and turning along the cushion of leaves of which his head still rested upon. "Are you or are you not permitting our arranged meeting to take place?"

"Fortunately for you, I'm afraid I must choose the former," César answered, before he spoke again only seconds later, now bearing a merry tone within his voice. "Yes, I am in fact permitting you to have a bit of fun with a good friend of yours following an act of eavesdropping on the part of you two, if you can at all believe such a preposterous thing."

In response, Eduardo held a smile of relief for several seconds, his heart pounding with joy over the fact that not only had his father both apologized to him and forgiven him for his wrongdoings the previous day but had also granted the initiation of his plans to finally relieve himself of the stress he had gathered from the looming conflict. César shortly afterward took notice of the smile that appeared on his son's beak, as well as Eduarda. Both of Eduardo and Mimi's parents simply could not resist smiling back. Mimi, although unable to see her brother, still caught sight of the smiles borne by her parents, and almost instantaneously upon noticing this, she smiled with them.

Several moments later, César's laughing ceased, before he yet again spoke, this time in a much more relaxed tone of voice, directed towards not only his son, but his daughter as well. "Now, in exchange for me granting you permission to socialize with Alberto during the day, I urge the both of you to get some rest. A long day is ahead of all of us, and almost certainly, me and your mother will still be asleep when you make your departure from the hollow."

"Also, please bear in mind that it would be best to make your return to the hollow before nightfall sets in, though personally, I would prefer for both of you to be standing within this hollow before the arrival of dusk," Eduarda chimed in.

"That would be lovely, Mom," Mimi replied, before she then proceeded to shut her eyes in preparation for another attempt to sleep.

"Quite frankly, Dad, I am still astonished that after what I engaged in yesterday, you would permit such a thing," Eduardo expressed gratefully.

"Thank you two for expressing your thanks," César responded. "Now please, let us catch some rest now, yes?" In an answer of compliance, both Eduardo and Mimi nodded in unison, and at that, both César and Eduarda turned back around, facing the right side of the hollow, before slowly making their way towards their own stone beds, reaching their beds after making some dozen steps forward. Within some four odd minutes, both the Patriarch and the Matriarch had readied themselves for finally returning to the slumber they then very much desired, by which time, Mimi had already fallen asleep.

Five further minutes passed, and Eduardo, who had during the duration of that time, been fixing his eyes upon the ever-changing colors of the sky, finally fell asleep as well, preparing himself for the long rest of the day he would later experience.

 _ **Author's Fact of the Day:**_

 _ **The Spix's Macaw is the sole member of the genus Cyanopsitta, and today, at least 97 individuals of the species are known to survive today, all of which are safe in captivity.**_


	9. Satisfying Appetites

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello, everyone, I have an important announcement to address; in order to diversify the existing OrangeMacawWorld library, I will in addition to be continuing "Don't Go," also begin writing "A Blue Bride," a story I've wanted to do for quite some time. In case you're wondering, "A Blue Bride," will not be a sequel to "Don't Go," rather it will be a much shorter story focusing on the marriage of Blu and Jewel. With that said, let's fly!**_

Several hours had swiftly passed since the entire Torres Family had fallen asleep together within their hollow, the time now standing at approximately 10:50 AM. Eduardo had awoken and had simultaneously risen from his bed just ten minutes prior, also waking up Mimi only two minutes afterward by climbing up into her bed and proceeding to then shake her head cushion of leaves with his beak.

By then, the number of macaws roaming the skies within the Spix's Macaw Tribe was increasing exponentially. At around the same time that the Torres Family had all fallen asleep, the number of macaws that were fully active and outside of their hollows only stood at a mere several dozen, almost half of whom were either sentries or warriors patrolling the borders that the Tribe shared with both the Scarlet and Red-bellied Macaw Tribes. Since then, the number had increased to approximately 4,000 macaws, or approximately 80% of the entire population, not counting the other species of nomad birds who lived amongst the Spix's Macaws within their territory.

Eduardo and Mimi, after having followed their usual morning routine as they had done so hours prior, soon thereafter discovered that both of their parents had indeed kept true to their predictions, that they would still be asleep by the time that the two Torres siblings had begun their morning. Surprisingly, César now held the exact same sleeping position along his stone bed that he had displayed when he had fallen asleep, lying in a streamline position that faced the underside of his mate's bed.

His broad wings were crossed over his chest and neck in a manner that resembled the sleeping position of a bat, which Eduardo assumed was intended to deter insects and arachnids from making their way to his neck. Eduarda on the other hand had changed her sleeping position, originally sleeping in the same manner as her mate. Now, she lied along her bed in a sideways position, her right shoulder resting on her head cushion and her head facing the inside of the hollowed-out stone that her bed was made of.

Following the brief observations that the two Torres siblings had made concerning their parents' sleeping positions, they both stepped towards the hollow entrance and faced one another. They then began speaking to each other mere seconds afterward, the subject of their conversation pertaining to what they would eat for breakfast before making their departure from the hollow, embarking on their trip to the Cachoeira Cintilante.

"Mimi, what do you propose that we have for breakfast?" Eduardo began.

"Usually, I would immediately suggest that we either eat some wild berries from off the trees or make our way to either the Açaí or Guava Groves," Mimi answered. "However, as we are both short on time and in need of food that will provide to us a sufficient amount of energy for our long day, our best option lies with muruçi. After all, the nearest muruçi trees are only some five or so minutes north from here."

"I suppose you are right," Eduardo replied. "But we must hurry, it is growing very late in the morning as we speak. Either one or both of us must volunteer to exit the hollow and gather some fruit."

"In that case, I will volunteer. After all, as I am the one who rammed you yesterday, any and all work required from the two of us will be something for _me_ to perform. You deserve a break after that incident."

"Thank you," Eduardo expressed gratefully. "You are leaving now, correct?"

"Yes, you are correct. In approximately fifteen to twenty minutes, I will return." Only a moment after Mimi had responded to her brother's question, she turned towards the hollow entrance, taking a few steps forward. This was before she made her way several feet forward from where the branch that protruded from outside the hollow entrance. She then stood still for another few seconds, extending out her wings from where they had been tucked into the sides of her body not too long afterward. Mimi subsequently took flight within only an instant's notice, with a course within her mind set for a small grove of muruçi trees that lied almost straight ahead from where she had taken off.

For the first two odd minutes of her flight, she remained within the dense jungle that surrounded the Torres Tree, separating it from the thousands of other trees of shorter stature inhabited by the rest of the general population. Few macaws even dared to risk disturbing César, unless in cases they wished to forward reports or remarks concerning an issue within the Tribe. As a result, days in which there was a complete absence of Spix's Macaws apart from the Torres Family within this area of dense jungle such as this, were a normal occurrence.

Following her exit from the dense area of jungle, she reached an area comprised of far fewer trees and far less dense foliage, of which was inhabited by about 120 or so macaws. However, less than half of the birds were flying amongst Mimi at the moment, as most of them had already gathered breakfast for both themselves and for their families almost two hours earlier. Still, she found it necessary to dive or ascend rapidly in the air, as every now and again, she would nearly collide with one or two passing macaws, including two males and three females.

Four minutes had now passed since Mimi had left the hollow to gather fruit, and now, she was just a minute short of reaching her destination. She currently flew in the air at a halfway point between the northern and southern ends of the area of jungle, which continuing north, led to yet another area of jungle which was much larger in both size and population. After the passing of another few moments, she lifted her left wing upward and her right wing downward, turning to her right side and eventually passing a tree bearing muruçi juice smeared along the side of its trunk. This served as a clear indicator that she had reached her destination, the small Muruçi Grove.

Her entrance into the fruit grove was immediately followed by a great many muruçi trees coming into view. As expected, also coming into view were dozens upon dozens of the pale, yellowish-brown fruit dangling from the trees' branches, waiting to be picked. Almost instantaneously after she had surpassed the tree bearing the grove marker within the air, Mimi did not hesitate to put her keen sight to use. She scanned every branch belonging to every tree bearing muruçi, in hopes of spotting the very best fruit within the grove.

Every few moments, she continued advancing in the air for a few seconds before coming to a halt and hovering steadily whilst in an upright position. Most of the fruits surrounding her looked to be in a decent enough condition to be considered acceptable to be eaten, though there was certainly the occasional rotten fruit to be spotted every few rows or so of branches on every tree. A few of the rotten fruits had also been half-eaten by other creatures within the jungle and had gone rotten much quicker. Some of these rotten fruits were even met with several cringes of disgust on the part of Mimi.

As well as the occasional examples of rotten fruit that the trees displayed, there were also many more examples of bruised muruçi, of which Mimi tended to avoid as well. After approximately two full minutes of searching for fruits that appeared to be in pristine condition, she had made little, if any progress. Within those two minutes, her focus had swept over one branch consisting of fruits of mediocre appearance after another, as she had continued hovering, then making her way several feet forward of her former position.

Past the passing of those two minutes, she made the mental conclusion that continuing forward would result in little more than wasted time. She subsequently turned leftward, in hopes that she would find desirable muruçi there, though she did bear in mind that if she did not succeed in her objective within the western half of the grove, she would instead gather fruits that appeared the least mediocre. After she did eventually turn to her left, raising her right wing upward and her left wing downward, she kept flying for a few moments, before resuming her method of hovering briefly before flying briefly on repeat.

For the first minute or two that she spent within the western half of the grove, her success in finding pristine fruit was identical to that of which she found on the eastern half of the grove, meaning that she found no success at all. However, after continuing her gradual advance into the rainforest, her eyes then fixed upon a single tree that stood ten or so feet to her right, bearing numerous branches that held several fruits. Not even one of these fruits possessed a single bruise upon their pale skin. After sighing in relief at the sight of such fruit, she continued onward for a moment, flying in the direction of the tree and finally landing upon one of its branches, following the passing of another twenty odd seconds. The branch reached outward from the left side of the tree, appearing even from a long distance as rather thin.

Almost immediately upon making a swift landing on the rather small branch, its position within the air dropped towards the ground, quite typical for a thin branch of a tree bearing large fruit. Mimi then made the decision that she would eat her breakfast while she was already at the grove, while the fruits she would gather would go to her brother.

Afterward, she stared down at her feet and took a deep breath before looking directly up at the sky and leaning backward, whilst keeping a firm grip of the branch she stood upon with her talons. This was before the entire jungle around her seemed to turn upside down. As of yet, Mimi hung from the branch in a stance in which her feet stood the closest to the sky out of her entire body. Whilst in this position, she spread out her wings for several seconds, her attention then directing towards the bottom of a single muruçi fruit.

Feeling that she was finally in a good position to pick the fruit, her left foot released its grip of the branch and extended outward, her talons then penetrating the skin of the fruit. The next step in eating the fruit involved lifting her head upward towards the bottom of the fruit and slowly tearing the skin off with her beak. As she ate the sweet, yet also somewhat sour fruit, she also occasionally spat out the oval-shaped, beige seeds when her beak happened to nudge their rough surfaces when digging inside the fruit.

This process was followed for another couple of minutes, until she felt she had gained enough energy for the rest of her day, despite her breakfast so far only comprising of a single fruit. After having finished her breakfast, the fruit remained half-eaten, and a soft morning breeze within the wind suddenly appeared. Moments later, she retracted her left leg from its position in the air, her left set of talons once again locking around the branch firmly. This was all before she then moved forward along the branch whilst still hanging upside down, her attention now directed at another fruit, of which said fruit she intended to give to her brother.

Most of the steps she followed to pick this fruit were identical to those she had followed when she had eaten the previous fruit she had focused upon. However, because she did not intend to eat this particular fruit, Mimi simply hung in the air whilst absolutely still for a moment, feeling she had already found herself in a good position to pick the fruit. It was after that when she took another deep breath of the air surrounding her, then bringing herself to let go of the branch completely. As she now came plummeting towards the ground, she raised her wings and with great force, pushing them downward at an approximate 120-degree angle, extending out her legs in the direction of the tree.

This allowed her to ascend, fortunately putting an end to her rapid falling, and due to the angle that she had made with her wings when they had pounded upon the air, she had then tilted upward within the air, now hovering right side up once again.

After she had finally made her way back to her original position within the air in which she had begun falling from the branch intentionally, she then raised her right foot, wrapping her talons around the stalk of the fruit, shortly thereafter snapping the stalk in half with her beak. Only a short time later did she repeat his exact process with another fruit, only now using the talons belonging to her left foot to grasp the fruit by its stalk. After she had removed these two fruits from the tree, she slowly turned around, using her wings.

Now that she was facing the other trees within the grove, in the opposite direction from where the tree stood, she felt it was now time to make her way back to the Torres Tree. Mimi essentially repeated the exact same process she had done to fly towards the Muruçi Grove earlier in the morning, only in reverse.

Whilst on the return flight, she was presently surprised, as she had not encountered any macaws who had almost collided with her in the air. Eventually, after crossing through the multiple passages of jungle by wing, the Torres Tree came into view once again, though she did not see her brother waiting for her at the entrance. As her brother's absence posed as a significant inconvenience to her, (after all, she needed another bird to rid her talons of the fruit, providing for a safe landing) she called out her brother's name, suspecting that he was inside the hollow. When she did call his name, she was quite careful concerning the loudness of her voice, avoiding the possibility of waking up her parents if possible.

Indeed, Mimi's assumptions of her brother's presence within the hollow were correct, as ever since she had made her exit from the hollow to gather fruit, Eduardo had been sitting only a foot or so from the hollow entrance, leaning against the hollow walls. For the past fifteen minutes, he had not uttered a word, his parents' sleeping positions not changing one bit since Mimi had left. It was not at all long following her departure that boredom set in, the only entertainment being provided to Eduardo for much of the time being his mother's occasional snoring.

Eventually, after finding even this to be chronically short of entertainment value following the passing of little more than a minute, Eduardo began dividing his attention between his parents and the sky, observing it via leaning to his right and peering outside for brief periods of time. Although hopeful that something other than the dense jungle would appear from outside the hollow, the only creature that Eduardo managed to spot had been a blue-winged butterfly, which had fluttered before him in an utmost elegant fashion.

When his keen hearing received his sister's call, hiss green eyes brightened with excitement, before finally getting back on his feet from where he had previously sat. He then turned around and subsequently fixed his green eyes upon his sister, whom of which upon making eye contact with whilst she was still in flight, spoke again to her brother.

"I will require your assistance in just a moment!" After Mimi had called to him once again, Eduardo took notice of the two muruçi fruit dangling from Mimi's talons, then making his way to the same branch standing outside that he had stood upon when gazing at the sunrise in the early morning. His sister's flying speed soon afterward decreased significantly, eventually coming to a complete halt when she had made her way to the branch that Eduardo stood along, hovering several inches away from him.

A further moment passed, and indeed, Eduardo did provide help to his sister, leaning forward and using his beak to take hold of the stalk belonging to the fruit held by Mimi's right set of talons. His sister then released her grip on the stalk, the weight of the fruit pulling his neck and head downward. Fortunately, Eduardo did not let go of the fruit even at its immense weight, standing still for a moment before leaning backward and using all of the energy in his abdominal muscles, dragging the fruit along the branch and into the hollow.

After he had come to a halt and opened his beak, dropping the fruit on the ground some three feet from his bed, he repeated this whole process with the fruit being carried in Mimi's right set of talons. This was all before she hovered only a foot or so forward and made her landing, entering the hollow yet again, joining her brother. All too predictably for Mimi, as Eduardo could be quite a voracious macaw in the morning following an unpleasant day that preceded, he almost immediately began tearing the skin off the fruit.

Only less than a minute later, he was now making rapid progress concerning the fruit that he was currently eating. As Eduardo continued eating his sweet and savory breakfast, he simply ignored an assortment of yellow juice droplets from within the fruit that made their way to the outside of his beak, now trickling down his neck feathers. Occasionally, just as Mimi had done nearly half an hour ago when eating her fruit while still at the Muruçi Grove, he also spat out the seeds of the fruit if they managed to enter his beak.

.

After he had spent some five odd minutes devouring almost every edible component of the fruit, he moved on to the next fruit located only several inches to his right. Some three minutes into his second fruit, both Eduardo and Mimi heard wingbeats. It was rather odd that they would hear the sound of wings pounding upon the air at this time of day, considering that Alberto and Costa had mentioned nothing of meeting the two Torres siblings at their parents' tree, instead agreeing to meet them at the Cachoeira Cintilante itself.

Quite odd was the fact that the wingbeat frequency only stood at once or twice every second, making it clear to both Eduardo and Mimi that only a single bird was approaching. Both of them turned their heads towards the hollow entrance, though for a while, no bird of any kind could be seen. This was until one Spix's Macaw from a distance of approximately ten feet appeared, coming into view after turning to his right, or from outside the leftward portion of the hollow entrance wall.

Both siblings immediately recognized the approaching macaw as Verde Nova, whom of which made his landing on the branch that Eduardo typically used to make long-distance observations. Following his landing, he then caught his breath, before proceeding to speak to his friends.

"Good morning!" he panted whilst leaning several inches forward.

"Good morning to you as well!" Eduardo replied. "What brings you here?"

"In the early morning, Alberto spotted me while we were flying on overlapping flight roads, delivering messages to different council members. He used this opportunity to fly towards me and give me a light tap on the shoulder with his beak, informing me he would be with you and Mimi, as well as Costa at the Cachoeira Cintilante. Only a little while ago, I thought about joining you four in your little adventure, asking permission from my patrol master, Dinis, who fortunately, granted me permission."

"Why thank you for joining us," Mimi said appreciatively, before suddenly switching the subject of the conversation to Dinis. "Isn't that the same Dinis that was conducting some sort of testing involving bullet ants?"

"Yes, that is correct," Verde answered. "When he gathered all of the patrol members very early this morning, he held a distraught look on his beak for most of the time he was talking. After we were all dismissed from his hollow to go and conduct our patrol duties, I asked him why he looked upset. He answered that last night, his proposal of using fruit stuffed with bullet ants as weapons was rejected by César. To comfort him, I simply patted him on the pack for a few seconds before making my way to my assigned area of flight."

"Quite a busy chap, I must say," Mimi remarked, before forwarding a question to Verde. "I am assuming that you have gotten some breakfast down your beak at some point this morning, yes?"

"Yeah, I had some açaí as well as other fruit in numerous areas of operations throughout the morning."

"In that case, are we ready to head on over to the waterfall?" Eduardo asked. Mimi then turned to him and gave him a nod, before he looked towards Verde once again, whom of which also gave his answer by nodding. As Verde appeared to be exhausted upon arrival, Eduardo reassured himself that everyone was ready, giving his question again. "Is everyone set?"

"Indeed," Mimi replied, before taking in a deep breath.

"Ready," Verde said, then taking a deep breath in the same manner as Mimi had done.

"Take flight!" Eduardo commanded following a brief pause. Afterward, Verde turned around along the branch, taking off soon afterward. Both Torres siblings then followed behind him, and after nearly two minutes in flight, Mimi began flying at a faster pace than both her brother or Verde, thus leading the group forward.

 _ **Author's Fact of the Day:**_

 _ **By the end of its run in theaters, the first "Rio" grossed approximately $484.6 million worldwide. To put that into perspective, that is about $92 million more than what "Solo: A Star Wars Story" grossed total, even when not adjusting for seven years of inflation!**_


	10. Companions at the Waterfall

Approximately twenty minutes had come to pass from when Eduardo, Mimi, and Verde had made their departure from the hollow, with a course set for the Cachoeira Cintilante. Mimi had remained the leader of the group in flight, as she had already visited the waterfall on numerous occasions, albeit relatively long ago. Still, her knowledge of the area was adequate for guiding the two other birds behind her through the rainforest.

Thus far, to the surprise of all three birds, little talk pertaining to subjects other than those regarding their navigation had been said. Though this provided for a rather boring flight as of yet, Verde in particular thought of it as for the better, due to the absence of interruptions of the birds' concentration on reaching their destination, posed by the discussion of other matters.

While the group had been flying through a linear aerial pathway for ten odd minutes, the foliage had grown quite dense as the three Spix's Macaws had continued onward, obstructing their view of what had lied ahead of them. Thrice, Mimi had been forced to perform a dive, as several clusters of vines located close by had prevented her from seeing anything that stood beyond from where they dangled from the branches. Also, as to avoid the many natural obstacles to be found within the rainforest, all three macaws had retained a rather slow cruising speed of only about eleven miles per hour.

Besides the many collections of vines that had posed a hindrance to the birds either one way or another, few other dangers had been these initial ten minutes of flight. Every now and again, there had been the odd tree or two that stood as hazardous to the birds, due the possibility of the macaws making a collision with it. Hundreds of macaws had also passed by as well, though shockingly, no collisions had been made with them.

As a matter of fact, several of these birds had even bowed their heads as they surpassed either Eduardo or Mimi within the air. Even so, these gestures of respect went largely unnoticed, as all three members of the group had fixated their focus upon the pathway that would lead ever closer to the northeastern region of the Tribe, where relatively few macaws lived. This was because of the immense vegetation that had made its presence there, which more often not, deterred macaws who wished to settle there, due to the constant threat of either colliding with a tree or getting oneself caught in a cluster of vines.

Another event of significance that had taken place during those first ten minutes of flight were the group's discovery of several indicators of a large waterfall's nearby location; these included the growth in density of the foliage amongst them, the sudden decrease in the number of macaws inhabiting the rainforest, and the numerous streams that had come into view. These streams ran in curved patterns, similar in form to the Amazon River, which was well-known by tropical birds in general as the river that constantly meandered its way through the vast jungle.

At less than half a fathom deep, these streams were quite shallow, and at most, only five or six feet in diameter, barely large enough to sustain the lives of fish. However, this was very typical of streams that happened to make their way into the heart of the Amazon itself. The number of fishes inhabiting these streams as of then had included half a dozen or so mollies, and two or three leporinus.

Though these fish had held no direct impact upon the three birds' flight, this information had served crucial to Mimi. As of then, she had made the conclusion that her group was approaching a fall whose waters lead into the Amazon, bearing fish of many varieties within it. It just so happened that one of the many waterfalls that fell into this category was the Cachoeira Cintilante.

At this exact time, Eduardo, under the guise of nothing but his natural instincts, served as a lookout for the group. He had kept his eyes open for either predatory creatures lurking within the jungle or any signs of their presence. Luckily, no terrestrial animals that could feasibly catch a macaw flying at an altitude of some thirty feet had been spotted during this time.

As a matter of fact, the only dangerous animals Eduardo had spotted amounted to just two snakes; one of which had been unidentifiable, due to the shade provided by the canopy standing some seventy feet overhead; the other, while it had also had its colors concealed by the shade of the canopy, had been almost certainly a green anaconda, as no other snake that slithered its way throughout the Brazilian Amazon could match its mere size. Fortunately, both snakes had lied coiled up on the forest floor, only several feet or so away from the waters of the streams, rather than alternatively having been coiled around branches, high up in the trees.

Other than these two snake sightings, the only other rainforest fauna of note that Eduardo had spotted had been a few mollies making their way upstream, occasionally rippling the waters that stood beneath him, in response to them dashing towards the surface. Finally, once those first ten minutes of flying had eventually, but surely past, countless turns in either a leftwards or rightwards direction had been made, and the terrain had begun to differ considerably from just moments prior. In fact, one type of terrain had transitioned to another so much so that a dramatic increase in altitude on the part of the three macaws had proved necessary, due to several logs and sharp branches that were littered across the ground.

This measure had been taken in order to keep themselves no less than thirty feet above the ground, relative to their position within the air. As time had gone on, the ground had seemed to take on the form of a slope in an upwards direction ever slightly, quite odd considering that not a single mountain nor even a hill had been seen beforehand.

Yet again, the current density of the vegetation would have made catching sight of such a thing very difficult. Within a little less than ten further minutes, the macaws had all kept ascending as the ground that stood beneath them had and continued to ascend with them. Now, only ten minutes of further flight remained between Eduardo, Mimi, and Verde and their desired destination. Within that span of ten further minutes, Eduardo and Verde had followed suite at every dive, turn, and ascension that Mimi made.

As the ground beneath them still held not a sign that it would cease rising with the birds as they flew, Mimi no longer bothered to even glance at the ground, deciding any further observations of the terrain at the moment would stand as little more than fruitless. Instead, she searched for any differences within the foliage that surrounded the birds.

To the surprise of no one within the trio of Spix's Macaws, the vegetation had become ever the more lush, its green color also becoming ever the more crisp. Two further minutes then past, and it was at those minutes' passing when Mimi spoke to the other birds, informing them that the Cachoeira Cintilante certainly did not lie too far yonder.

"Everyone, the rainforest amongst us is becoming livelier! We all know what that could mean, yes?"

"Duh!" Verde laughed. "We're obviously getting closer to the waterfall."

"Please, speak more formal if you will," Mimi retorted, only receiving a snicker from Verde. Eduardo then joined in the conversation, speaking to his sister in particular.

"There is no need for teaching presently, but indeed presently, we require your _very_ proficient guiding skills," he remarked, intentionally bearing a hint of sarcasm within his voice in order to tease his sister.

"What?" Mimi shouted in an irritated fashion. "I have demonstrated that I am a proficient guide, thank you very much."

"Of course you are, I was simply playing word games with you," Eduardo responded contritely, somewhat worried that he had genuinely offended his sister.

"Later, please," she sighed, her eyes rolling upwards within their sockets. "Whilst I am serving as your guide, try not to further annoy me."

"A guide, really?" Verde asked jokingly, displaying yet another grin on his beak. "Did you happen to abandon your childhood obsession of circumnavigation or what?"

"You need not worry, I can promise you that at some point or another, I will perform the same stunt as Germano," Mimi reassured herself, referring to the famous Scarlet Macaw named Jonatas Germano that she had idolized as a chick; he was the first (and thus far only) member of any Macaw Tribe to circumnavigate the earth, making his historic trip from the 17th of April to the 20th of August of 1958.

"I was just teasing," Verde explained, after Mimi had turned her head towards him for a brief period, sporting a rather annoyed look.

"Again, save your banter for later, we must all focus," she ordered, now bearing a stern expression upon her beak.

"Seriously?" Eduardo groaned.

"Seriously," his sister answered. "Although I enjoy your company very much, please, just shut up!" Just as she had wished, she received not a word from either bird that flew behind her, remaining silent for quite a while longer.

Nonetheless, having the group kept silent was soon afterward, effectively rendered pointless, due to not only the calls of other birds and of numerous species of monkeys that echoed throughout the jungle, but also a constant roaring sound that had abruptly come about. The roaring that could be heard never ceased to end, and the sound itself was quite distinct, neither bearing a voice or producing a sound that resembled that of any animal - Mimi was certain that the Cachoeira Cintilante was very close.

Predictably, as the closer and closer the three Spix's Macaws came towards the waterfall, ever the more trees placed in hazardous positions along the aerial pathway appeared. The number of shrubs that littered the forest floor also increased substantially, and at some points, the shrubs blanketed almost the entire forest floor with their lush, green leaves. Mimi, knowing that speaking to her fellow birds in a normal speaking voice would be rendered inaudible by the ever-increasing loudness of the waterfall nearby, she spoke loudly as she gave yet another order to her brother and Verde, as to not have every word that would leave her beak be left utterly futile.

"If you see the waterfall, please inform me!" she squawked. "I am quite anxious myself to see this beauty of rock and water after quite a long time. Once again, I will remind you to please search for the Ca -"

"'Kay, 'kay, we get it, Mimi, we aren't chicks ya know?" Verde interrupted, deliberately speaking in a very informal manner as to irritate her out of spite.

"Very well then, thank you for your criticism, Verde," Mimi grumbled in a dishonest manner.

"Really?" Verde gasped, utterly baffled that Mimi had responded positively towards words of his that were meant to annoy her.

"Ha-ha… No," she answered calmly, before reinforcing these words with yet another command. "Shut your beak, you flippant fool!"

At this, Eduardo could not help but laugh, providing to Verde enough embarrassment to do as the former of the birds' sister had commanded. By now, Mimi estimated that her and the other two macaws had flown for approximately thirty minutes, meaning that the waterfall lied only moments away, if not less.

Eduardo and Verde, now flying at a slightly faster speed of thirteen miles per hour, decided to observe the rainforest amongst them, in order to correctly pinpoint the location of the waterfall based on the positions of the streams borne from it. However, once the two birds fixed their eyes upon the ground, the streams that traced back to the waterfall had disappeared. This was then followed by bewildered looks that came to appear on both birds' beaks.

Still stunned at the fact that the streams had all left his view, Eduardo made the conclusion that he had concentrated so much on following his sister through the rainforest that he hadn't carefully looked down at the earth beneath him. Verde simultaneously made the same conclusion. Afterward, the former of the two macaws reported the disappearance of these streams to Mimi, who was also now flying at a slightly faster speed than she had thus far.

"It appears as if all essence of water standing beneath us has vanished, Mimi!" Her head then turned around, facing her brother as she explained the sudden disappearance of the streams.

"Obviously, you did not care to notice that I lead you _away_ from the streams, making our way upwards as the ground continues to ascend. I myself, want to obtain a view from one of the cliffs of the Cachoeira Cintilante. I can guarantee that we are almost there. Now, resume with your observations if you wish to save us time."

Eduardo's eyes then widened in both shock and embarrassment at his failure to even notice such a clear change in course. He decided to give no verbal reply to her sister, instead expressing his understanding of the situation with a nod. After that, he and Verde kept scanning their surroundings with their eyesight for a further three minutes. Within the first half of that time, Eduardo had eventually noticed that the forest floor no longer ascended.

Soon enough, following the passing of those three minutes, he caught sight of what appeared to be a continuous, large stream of water that descended within the air as it ran, sitting almost a hundred feet to his left. Almost immediately upon taking notice of what could possibly be the group's destination, he slowed down significantly, almost coming to a complete halt whilst still advancing at a very slow pace, in order to see what lied to his left more clearly.

Using a difficult flying technique that had been taught to him by his father almost a year prior, he pushed the air standing directly in front of him with his wings, which then swung back rapidly, then repeating this motion. These special wing maneuvers allowed him to fly backwards, letting him revert to the position he had held within the air only seconds ago.

He began hovering steadily once he had reached that aerial position that he had desired, carefully observing all aspects of the waterfall that could be seen at the moment. The waterfall in question seemed to be running from off the edge of a cliff, comprised of light-gray rock, surrounded by tall trees of various heights, with a few trees on the opposite side of the waterfall standing as visible. Hints of both light and dark shades of brown could also be seen within the rock that stood on the opposite side of the waterfall, leaving Eduardo to assume a clay bank was nearby as well.

Eventually, after Verde and Mimi had surpassed Eduardo within the air by some thirty feet. No longer being able to pick up the sound of his wingbeats, they both turned around, shortly afterward making their way back to where he was now hovering. Once they began hovering as well, only three odd feet away from where Eduardo was hovering, his sister then bore a hopeful smile upon her beak, then asking him whether he had finally discovered the Cachoeira Cintilante or not.

"Did you find it?"

"I suppose I have," Eduardo replied, smiling back at his sister. "I stopped here as I was able to catch a glimpse of the waterfall. See, over there!" At his last sentence, his head turned in the direction of the waterfall, with Mimi and Verde following suite only a second or two later. Immediately upon the waterfall coming into her view, Mimi laughed merrily, announcing that her brother had indeed, found the one and only Cachoeira Cintilante.

"Splendid!" she shouted in an exhilarated manner. "It is definitely the waterfall we have sought for our whole day thus far!" Mimi then flew at a rapid speed towards the Cachoeira Cintilante in excitement, with her brother and Verde doing the same almost simultaneously, though they flew at a slower speed than the bird that they were following, as to avoid colliding into the plentiful vines that surrounded them. Within twenty to thirty seconds, all three members of the group had arrived at the edge of the western side of the waterfall, carefully landing upon the rock which sat beside the fall itself.

A stupendous waterfall indeed, the Cachoeira Cintilante was not only just a mere waterfall, but also one hosted by an enormous gorge. The gorge itself held a large, wide stream at its bottom, its waters borne from the waterfall. As Eduardo had seen not long before, a vast, dense wall of trees and foliage stood to the north, on the opposite side of the fall, lying some three-hundred feet away. To the east ran the world's second-largest river - the Amazon. As the tepid waters belonging to the river slithered in the same fashion as a snake throughout the basin, it eventually came to the lip of the waterfall before collapsing down upon the earth beneath of it, composed of numerous slopes of gray rock, sometimes covered in vegetation.

Although not all that visible due the foliage preventing the birds from noticing this geographical feature, the stream nonetheless eventually started running in zig-zag patterns to the west, until gradually making its way in an upward direction, rising over slight elevations in the ground. As these elevations located at the bottom of the gorge continued ascending, the rocky slopes, combined with the gorge's walls, tightened their position on the stream.

After a while, after rising up and down on five further occasions, the stream finally climbed so high that it became level with the cliffs of the Cachoeira Cintilante. Beyond about a mile or so, the stream turned around, finally joining with the waters of the Amazon River itself. Another feature that Eduardo had just seen, lying north across the wall of the gorge that stood straight-ahead was a large clay bank, of which was very often fed upon by the few macaws who did live in this area, finding it to significantly improve their digestion.

The Cachoeira Cintilante, unlike most other waterfalls Eduardo or Verde had set their eyes upon before, was not only a majestic sight, but a rather frightening one as well. The height at which one would plummet towards the slopes of rock if they were to unfortunately fall stood, at around seven-hundred feet.

Eduardo gulped at the mere sight of the stream borne from the fall, lying so far below his current position, despite his ability to fly. At that moment, he reckoned that at least a few poor souls had met their end after making a seemingly inconsequential mistake at the edge of one of the cliffs belonging to the gorge. _I am going to have to assume that her standards of small and large are far different from mine_ , Eduardo then thought to himself for a moment, his thoughts pertaining to Costa's description of the passing of another minute then came, consisting of nothing more than the three birds staring at the waterfall's enchanting features.

After that, two blue figures making their way toward the group, now flying at a distance of a hundred feet from the opposite side of the gorge, came into view. Almost as soon as they gently landed upon the edge of one of the gorge's walls following the passing of a further minute, they were recognized by the group as Alberto Guava and Costa Palmeiro. Verde, bearing an excited look upon his beak, waved to Alberto, though the latter of the two birds was unable to see his friend, as he was then pounding his beak with one of his feet, ridding it of some dirt that had gotten onto its surface.

Costa had not noticed any of three birds, instead observing the ground whilst she had flown, now searching for any vibrantly-colored insects that fluttered throughout the jungle, her back turned to the north. Eventually, Verde felt it was necessary to shout in order to get ahold of Alberto's attention. Verde placed his wingtips near his beak, his voice echoing across the walls of the gorge as he called to his fellow detachment member.

"Hey, ALBERTO! We're over here!" After this call came to register in his mind, Alberto shook for a second in surprise that the group had already arrived, due to the great number of natural obstacles along the way to the Cachoeira Cintilante. He then tapped Costa on the back with one of his feet, rolling his toes backward as to not accidentally catch his talons on any of his love interest's gorgeous feathers.

Costa turned around, immediately taking notice of Eduardo, Mimi, and Verde once she had done so. Less than half a minute afterward, Alberto and Costa both took flight again, carefully flying at a very slow speed as they flew above the stream that rushed against the rocky slopes hundreds of feet below. Within forty odd seconds, both birds landed at a distance of three feet from their companions, taking a few quick breaths, before Costa finally broke the silence that had come to exist between the five birds.

"Wonderful, everyone Alberto and I invited is present," she greeted, speaking excitedly. "Now, what are we to do this fine morning? Are there any suggestions?"

"Perhaps we could simply stand here and speak as we please," Eduardo suggested, receiving a look of approval from his friend's love interest that stood directly in front of him. "But, if I were to express one query before we all discuss any particular subject matter, why is it so that you told me that it was a small waterfall?"

"I am glad that you asked," Costa began her answer. "Whenever I recommend any particular natural landmark to any friend of mine, I typically speak of that location as less than it actually is, in order to further surprise that friend. Mimi, you did not tell him, did you?"

"No," Mimi replied in a serious fashion. "I wanted to surprise him as well."

"Excellent," Alberto commented. "Even though I love whenever one tells me of spectacular things, it significantly softens the emotional impact capable of such a wondrous thing if I'm already expecting it as wondrous. Are you someone along those lines too, Eduardo?"

"Yes," Eduardo responded, smiling back at his friend. "In fact, I am quite simply, astonished at this beauty. It is a shame few live around these parts."

"Pertaining to the subject of the latter of your sentences, you should be thankful that few live here," Alberto chuckled, his eyes now focusing on the Cachoeira Cintilante. "After all, if a war of some kind is going to take place, the Scarlets probably won't focus their strategic efforts on a sparsely-populated valley of dense jungle. Almost certainly, they would concentrate on reaching areas inhabited by many."

"True," Verde chimed in abruptly. "You could just hide out in this beautiful place for your whole life, I mean, I'm being serious. Do you -"

"What you speak of, Verde is cowardice," Mimi said rather angrily, scowling at the bird standing to her right.

"Hey, hey, I'm only making suggestions," Verde laughed in nervousness. After a while, the macaws grew silent until Alberto coughed, suggesting that they speak of matters that were not of serious nature.

"Everyone, might I suggest that we delve into a discussion today that does _not_ involve what could happen very soon? We all came here to alleviate our minds, remember?"

"Yes, indeed," Mimi agreed. "Why don't we speak of a humorous event that all of us have to bear within our minds?"

"And the criteria?" Verde asked.

"It has to relate to yourself," she answered, facing him before turning back around. "I will go first, I suppose. Anyway, three years ago, there was one day where I was engaging in conversation with a few of my friends. Quite notable was when Felícia and Érica spoke to me of the mischief they had engaged in years before, and the latter of the two began cursing abruptly, after she got into a little disagreement with Felicía over who they had tricked the most often. Although it was a very serious situation, I thought of the whole moment as quite hilarious, as I had never heard Érica swear up a storm before."

"Sounds entertaining," Verde remarked, before going next. "On one patrol that took place in the Açaí Grove, me and one of my detachment members, Gularte, were given the same directions and coordinates by our patrol leader, Jeremias Benito, or "Jeto," as everyone likes to call him. Moving on, because we were given the exact same coordinates, I ended up colliding with Gularte. Jeto, who was close by, clarified that an error had occurred. Still, both of us had a good laugh in the end."

"I will now share my event," Eduardo announced once Verde had finished speaking. "About a year ago, I was standing at the edge of the Amazon Basin, demonstrating my aptitudes of focus and concentration to Dad as I kept my eyes fixed upon the catfish making their way upstream. Eventually, I heard the roar of a jaguar, and I trembled so greatly at that moment that I tripped, falling into the water. Praying that I would not be eaten by the river's piranhas who feast upon anything that panics, Dad grabbed me by the wing and pulled me out of the water, gasping for air as I surfaced. Expecting me to bear a frightened look upon my beak, Dad bore a dumbfounded expression when I instead chortled for whatever reason. Now, who is next? Alberto? Costa? Anything of note?"

Alberto, who had been humming the tune to a celebratory song for quite some time now, ceased this activity, deciding to forward an experience of his, as Costa did not begin to speak. "The first patrol where I ever felt a sense of embarrassment was one of my longest; three years ago, I was dispatched by César with the objective of stealing a human block of thin, white squares, which they call "paper," all the way in Manacapuru. This was because César wanted one of these human blocks of paper called "books," as some relate to medicinal plants, hoping that the Tribe would obtain some cures for a few serious diseases. Now, yes, I did find a gray, human book-holding structure in the city, entering through a square opening in the gray structure and making sure no humans were walking through."

"And?" Eduardo said, intrigued by what Alberto had to say.

"After I got into the gray structure with rows upon rows of books stacked up on top of one another in hollowed-out walls, I looked for a long time, until I finally found a book on medicinal plants of the Amazon. However, as soon as I got a grasp on the book, laid it down upon a flat surface bearing a quartet of legs, and using my beak to open it, a large insect flew in, landing at my feet from my right if I remember correctly. Not expecting such an insect, I let out a startled yelp before a female human clutching a stick noticed me, attacking me with her stick whilst screaming in Portuguese. After that, I returned to the Tribe three days later with no book. As you can imagine, César was displeased with my failure to say the least."

"Timid, are you?" Mimi asked.

"Back then, I often was, and even today I admit, I occasionally have moments where I display that negative trait," Alberto answered, before he faced Costa, waiting for her to speak. After the latter of the two birds realized it was her turn to share, she stood in a manner that conveyed friendliness, her eyes seeming to glow slightly as she opened her beak.

"Several weeks after I met Alberto, I was with my sister Isaura at another, albeit smaller waterfall named the Cachoeira Brilhante located south. The two of us spoke to each other, our discussion concerning the names of items that humans use that Alberto taught me. I eventually recalled the name of one of the foods eaten by humans borne from distant lands, far north, east, and west of Brazil, in particular, one that was eaten by a couple of human children Alberto had observed from afar - pudding. Yes, pudding. Anyway, as soon as that word left my beak, for some reason or another, Isaura burst out laughing at the mere word alone. In fact, she laughed so hard that she almost lost her balance along the branch we were standing along, of which overlooks the waterfall. I could not help but laugh myself as well."

After the birds realized without any words spoken between them that there were no more birds within the group that had not shared a humorous experience already, they searched for a new set of matters to discuss, but ultimately found none. Instead, for about an hour or so, Eduardo flew off with Alberto to eat some fruit, while Mimi, Verde, and Costa made their way towards the waterfall itself on foot for a brief time, before stopping and then sitting once they had found a comfortable position to do so. The three of them spoke to one another about their favorite colors and human cities.

Coincidentally, Verde's favorite color was green, while Costa and Mimi preferred magenta and orange respectively. Whilst they spoke about cities, Mimi said her favorite was Manaus, though only because it was the only human city she had ever been to. Costa on the other hand favored Manacapuru, and Verde chose São Paulo, which sat over 2,400 miles south of the Tribe.

After a while, the three birds all blathered on to one another about their friends, and in the meantime, Eduardo and Alberto both risked their lives when they had flown down into the gorge, landing upon one of the steep slopes of stone that pushed against the stream. The two friends then played one of their favorite games that they had engaged in as chicks, called "Half-blind Onlookers."

It involved the two birds closing one of their eyes and seeing how many fish they could spot swimming upstream within a minute's time. After only the first round of the game, Eduardo and Alberto flew back to their original positions atop one of the cliffs, as the frothy stream had made catching sight of a small fish extremely difficult.

From then on, the two macaws began chattering in a similar, carefree manner that was demonstrated by Mimi, Verde, and Costa not far away. Although it felt like a relatively short period of time, over four hours eventually came to pass, and as time went on, the blue shade borne by the sky became ever fainter.

 _ **Author's Fact of the Day:**_

 _ **In English, the name Cachoeira Cintilante translates to "shimmering waterfall."**_


	11. Banks of Clay and News of Dismay

Roughly half a quartet of rather uneventful hours had gradually gone by, with little pertaining to Eduardo, Mimi, Verde, Alberto, and Costa having occurred for quite some time. Since they had all made their anticipated rendezvous along the southern wall of the Cachoeira Cintilante, they had done seldom more than chatter, though Mimi for a brief while within the past hour or so, had explored the southern wall's eastern side.

There, she had sought to visually examine numerous varieties of insects, intent on remaining there for at least an hour. Unfortunately, her studies had been cut short as a result of receiving several raucous squawks of animosity on the part of the nomad birds that dwelled in hollows positioned near the leafy treetops. As these birds had garnered quite an unsavory reputation over the many years that they had inhabited the area, Mimi had decided that arguing with them would only serve as detrimental to her, and with that, she had made her exit from the area, almost as soon as the nomads had forwarded their complaints.

On the bright side however, Mimi had encountered several butterflies in possession of gorgeous wings, and within the latter half of her brief venture, she had also spent an entertaining three or so minutes watching a pair of squirrel monkeys bicker with one another along a sturdy branch, standing some thirty odd feet above the ground. For a while at least, the two monkeys had repeatedly howled at one another, until the one positioned on the right side of the branch had hastily scrambled his way up the tree. Several seconds later, the other monkey that possessed more gray fur on its back than yellow fur had followed suite, chasing after the monkey that it had argued with.

After having returned to the western side of the southern wall, Mimi had resumed a conversation she had been engaged with for at least twenty minutes with Costa, regarding the latter's sister named Isaura, who had unfortunately become ill. For much of those two hours that had passed, Costa had spoken to Verde and Eduardo about numerous topics, most notably the many occasions she had encountered piranhas and other dangerous aquatic creatures whilst having travelled along the edge of the rainforest that lead into the Amazon Basin.

In contrast to the few events concerning the five birds that had occurred over the past couple of hours, many changes had taken place within the sky as they always did around this time. As typical for any day in the Amazon rainforest, the shade of blue borne by the sky had increased in terms of overall faintness, as the setting of the sun continued its gradual approach.

The waters borne by the Amazon River had also accelerated considerably, and as a result, the waters of the Cachoeira Cintilante had followed suite. Despite this, the Cachoeira Cintilante still retained its distinctive rhythm that could never be played by any musical instrument, composed of a single, endless note. Even now at a time such as 5:12 PM, the sky remained blue, albeit a faint blue, with about an hour's time left until the setting of the sun truly took place.

Now pacing back and forth within a perimeter of about ten feet in length along the forward edge of the southern wall in a repetitive manner, (out of the mere boredom that he was experiencing at the moment) Eduardo was already yearning for an activity that did not involve extensive discussion, though not a single idea of the sort had materialized within his mind. Every now and again, he muttered to himself, eventually resorting to speaking in Portuguese rather loudly, improving his concentration. Still, after nearly a minute of contemplating at great lengths, he lacked the creativity to focus on any one idea that his sister and friends would not only realistically approve of, but thoroughly enjoy as well.

"How stupid must I be in order to suggest not a thing in a time of boredom?" he thought aloud, occasionally turning his eyes towards the waters of the aptly-named waterfall standing nearby. Suddenly, Eduardo heard the distinctive sound of wing flaps, his keen hearing catching exactly four of them, whilst his eyes became fixed on the Cachoeira Cintilante in search of whomever had made those wing flaps. As no bird stood in front of him, nor did any bird stand in the direction of which his attention was centered towards, he at first turned his head to his left, finding nothing of note but a single mosquito.

Only seconds after Eduardo promptly used his wings to successfully crush the parasitic insect, he grew quite startled when a shorter wing rested on his shoulder, his heart jumping suddenly as he felt the sensation of having his shoulder come into contact with something he had not expected it to. He then turned around to see that the bird that had alerted him was only Mimi, who as of now bore a concerned look on her beak, then speaking almost as soon as Eduardo's face even came into her view.

"If you are indeed bored, I would advise that you suggest one thing or another that we could all do together. I must confess that I myself am rather annoyed at the fact that not even one of us has done anything more than speaking. Even more of a pity is that I flew eastward in search of any fascinating wildlife, though most of what I encountered were a lot of those strange and obnoxious nomad blokes."

"Nomads?" Eduardo asked, bearing a tone of relief in his voice at the fact that Mimi was now standing behind him, unscathed. "I have heard a great many negative things regarding them, but since you stand here without any harm inflicted upon you as it seems, I suppose there is no need for me to ramble on about them."

"That is quite swell, I'm afraid, because on numerous occasions, you have already gone on to endlessly ramble on about them."

"Yes, I admit that I was much too paranoid of those birds," Eduardo sighed whilst bearing a sheepish grin on his large, gray beak, before it returned to its past look expressing boredom soon afterward. "All I can think of at the moment is eating more berries, unfortunately."

"Now, relating to what you just said, I have a splendid idea!" Mimi announced in a loud manner, though not loud enough to be heard by Alberto, Costa, and Verde, who all stood a great many feet northward. "As we have all eaten breakfast this morning, as well as a few berries here and there over the past several hours, I think it would serve as beneficial to our health if we made our way to the clay banks."

"That is a splendid idea indeed!" Eduardo responded enthusiastically. "As a matter of fact, I will fly to the clay banks right now, for testing purposes!"

"Testing?" Mimi inquired. "We are not conducting some sort of experiment, Eddy, we are simply consuming clay to aid in our digestion! How are you so ignorant of everything around you when you have been alive for seven years and counting?"

"I already know that, Mimi, I am not _that_ ignorant! I am simply going to test the stability of the banks so that no one slips a talon along the wall and consequently meets with Selva!"

"There is no need for such a thing, we have wings after all," Mimi insisted.

"And you are declaring _me_ an ignorant fool? When was the last time you have ever attempted flight immediately after both of your wings came into contact with a large amount of water? No? Exactly, but I have - numerous times, as a matter of fact!"

"How about you blabber on about your paranoia of water somewhere else!" Mimi retorted.

"Now, other than making our way to the clay banks, do you know what else I have in mind?" Eduardo responded in an irritated manner, whilst a great many of his facial feathers now bore a hint of crimson.

"What?" Mimi uttered whilst sporting an exasperated expression on her beak, her cheeks simultaneously transitioning from cerulean to a furious maroon.

"How about the both of us accept one another's ideas for once since we both hold good intentions! For God's sake, we will advance no further in any positive manner if we persist in our petty arguing! This day was supposed to be one free of conflict, remember?" As soon as all of those words had been spoken, the redness in both siblings' faces faded, both also bearing grim looks on their beaks, as well as thrice exchanging glances within a matter of seconds. After some twenty further seconds of silence had past, Eduardo spoke once again, his voice now calm and his feathery cheeks now devoid of any pigments of red. "Please, go speak to the others. By the time you make your return, I will already be at the clay banks."

Mimi then nodded in agreement, before her younger brother promptly turned rightwards, subsequently taking flight and heading northwards in the direction of the clay banks lying some three-hundred feet ahead. Afterward, she also took flight, ascending some five feet up in the air, though as her destination was directly ahead of her, her flight was free of turns.

Around thirty seconds later, after passing by much of the foliage that had obstructed her view of what had lied ahead, coming into Mimi's view was Verde, who now stood alone, facing the outskirts of the dense jungle. For the past two or so minutes, he had been fruitlessly searching said outskirts for açaí berries, thus his beak now sported a look of disappointment. As of yet, he did not notice Mimi's presence, thus, she decided to call to him, which would surely be heard clearly, given the relatively short distance of thirty odd feet that stood between her and Verde.

"Verde! Come forth!" Almost instantaneously, Verde directed his attention towards the daughter of his Patriarch and Matriarch, then turning and finally walking towards Mimi, once she had landed ten or so feet away, now walking towards the former of the birds. Not long afterward, the two macaws came to a standstill by the time that they stood only about two feet away from each other, with Verde immediately asking Mimi in a polite manner why she had requested his presence.

"Okay, what's the situation? Is it something good or bad? What?"

"Fortunately, it is the former," she replied. "I suggested to Eduardo earlier that we fly to the clay banks in order to provide some help to our digestion. He approved very quickly, we had a quarrel of sorts that was devoid of much meaning, and now I stand before you. Would you like to join us?"

"Definitely," Verde sighed in relief. "It's way better than walking around in circles and finding nothing to do at all." Almost as soon as Verde had answered Mimi's question, her eyes widened at the fact that Alberto and Costa were nowhere in sight, leading Mimi to promptly ask the macaw standing in front of her where the two birds were now located.

"Where are Alberto and Costa?"

"Oh, they're not far away from where that foliage is," Verde answered, using his feet to turn, now facing the direction in which the northern wall of the Cachoeira Cintilante was located. He then extended his left wing and pointed to a relatively dense assortment of vines and leaves that stood directly ahead of Mimi, standing approximately ten feet yonder.

At her failure to notice such an obvious natural obstacle, Mimi used her right wing to clap her beak, hanging her head in shame for a few seconds before eventually resuming her objective. Afterward, she turned towards the northern wall of the waterfall, using her wings to ascend in the air at a low altitude of around seven feet. Mimi then made an effortless turn to her left, flying straight for a few seconds before surpassing the collection of foliage that had obstructed her view.

Once this was accomplished, she turned leftward again, in the direction of the southern wall. Within the time span that took only three wing-flaps, she landed once again. As Alberto and Costa were purported to be positioned somewhere to her right, Mimi's focus turned in that direction. Immediately afterward, she found the two birds she sought, sitting on the edge of the southern wall beside one another, looking out into the distance. At the mere sight of the couple, Mimi greeted them in a polite manner, promptly garnering the two birds' attention.

"Alberto! Costa! Eduardo and I have recently decided to invite the two of you to join us at the clay banks on the northern wall. Do you care to come?" Once Mimi had made her verbal invitation to the couple, Alberto (whom of which was now sitting rightwards of Costa, thus being closest to Mimi) turned his eyes towards his friend and gave a friendly response, all the while accepting her invitation in the end.

"That would be delightful! The two of us have not yet been able to bestow upon ourselves a suitable environment in which we can kiss each other, and quite frankly, I would much rather benefit my health than waste my precious time with lessening the degree of which a dull event is… Well, dull, really."

"For the past few minutes, we have been conversing about archaic writing, and I must say, I would much rather enjoy myself at the clay banks," Costa agreed, smiling towards her soon-to-be-mate that sat beside her, whom now used his head to nudge her shoulder, receiving a warm and joyful smile in return.

"Archaic writing of what sort?" Mimi inquired whilst her right brow raised as she spoke.

"One of the literary epics written on sixteen stone tablets by João Pena de Cerúleo," Costa replied. "Wait, Alberto, what was that excerpt you cared to mention to me from _Morning Sky_ , again?"

"I believe it reads as "' _Now cometh to the side of Márcio was his lovely maiden known as Bianca, who had giveth all birds of the Scarlet Macaw Tribe a sense of hope from the beauty of her marvelous face_ '" or something along those lines."

"I am assuming that was written centuries ago, was it not?" Mimi asked. "I say that because I could name at least two of those words that are now obsolescent."

"On the contrary, it was written in the year of 1927," Alberto replied. "Apparently, João was hatched in the Blue-and-Yellow Macaw Tribe under special living circumstances on the part of his parents. Based on experience as your father's messenger, the majority of the population of that Tribe speaks in a formal, yet rather amusing manner. I confess that whenever I hear archaic words spoken from one's beak, I cannot help but snicker at least slightly, even if it has landed me into some sort of trouble every now and again."

"Interesting, and I thought we were the ones that bore sophisticated vocabulary," Mimi remarked, before almost immediately afterward reverting the subject of the conversation to the clay banks borne by the Cachoeira Cintilante. "At the moment, I highly recommend that the both of you lovebirds get a move on. Come, on, let us carry on, come on now!"

"Alright, we understand!" both Alberto and Costa snapped in unison whilst bearing an irritated tone in their voices, leaving Mimi frowning in guilt for a brief while, giving no verbal response. Seconds later, both of them used their wings to push themselves backwards, their rough, gray legs rising and straightening out as they left the field of empty air that was borne by the chasm that the two birds still sat before, now lying alone the edge of the southern wall.

After that, Alberto angled his feet downward, digging his talons into the relatively hard dirt that sat below him, before arising from his sitting position with the aid of his wings. Shortly afterward, he then turned towards Costa who at the moment was still sitting, offering his right wing to her in assistance. She gladly accepted Alberto's wing, his wing joining with her right wing, which in turn, helped Costa arise from where she sat. Alberto then smiled as Costa gave an enduring and grateful chuckle.

Immediately after that, all three birds got into their preferred flight positions over the course of a moment, turned towards the Cachoeira Cintilante, and then flew straight ahead at a rapid pace. Just seconds after they had made their exit from the southern wall, Verde came to join the group from behind, flying at a leftward angle, before eventually adjusting his flight direction until it was almost parallel with those of the other birds. Almost as soon as the group had taken flight, Mimi took notice of Eduardo, clinging onto the northern wall with his talons some one-hundred or so feet to the right of where the group of four birds was now directly ahead of.

As the general area of the northern wall where Eduardo was positioned off in the distance appeared a light brown rather than the rest of the wall that bore varying shades of gray, it became clear to the birds that their destination was already within their sights. In all, the clay banks covered a radius that spanned around one-hundred-and-fifty odd feet (quite small for a clay bank, especially one borne by such a gargantuan waterfall.) Its lowermost portion stood some fifty feet above from where the slopes of rock covered in dense foliage were situated, which was at the edge of the narrow stream that constantly had its water supply replenished by the fall. This contrasted greatly with the banks' uppermost portion, which stood only about ten feet below the clifftop of the northern wall itself.

Every now and again, the pleasantly tepid waters borne by the stream that cut through the bottom of the gorge created by the two walls of the Cachoeira Cintilante accelerated to a degree in which rapid streams of water would be shot up into the air in nearly every direction. A great many of these rapid streams of water managed to reach not only Eduardo's back, but also the uppermost portions of his wings, the back of his head, and the rearward-facing portions of his gray legs. At almost every instance in that he was sprayed with water, Eduardo's pale-green eyes flickered in alarm. His heart rate accelerated rapidly as well, due to the constant fear of being sprayed with enough water as to render his feathers insufficient for flight until they dried off.

Once the group of four birds surpassed the southern end of the stream whilst still in flight, they too were met with a great many salvos of thick water droplets. Seconds later, the birds of the group that remained aloft made a rightward turn, intent on clinging to the wall in positions that stood very near Eduardo. After having been sprayed with even more excess water than Eduardo even though the duration of his presence at the clay bank had been much longer, Verde opened his beak in the hopes of brightening the mood.

"So much for a day without rain!" All of the macaws then directed their attention towards him for a brief while, chuckling as at last, all four birds flapped their wings in the opposite direction of how they normally flapped them, which in turn, allowed their aerial positions to become vertical rather than horizontal. Once this had been accomplished over the course of approximately five seconds, the birds raised their legs upwards before briefly hovering and then, finally digging their talons into the clay wall after their abdomens had all come into contact with its soft surface.

For about a minute, the only sounds to be heard were the roaring of the Cachoeira Cintilante, as well as the rough scraping sound that came about when the birds dug their beaks into the clay wall. Only around a minute afterward, discussion between the group resumed, as all of them now felt that they had swallowed a sufficient amount of clay to satisfy their appetites. With the extensive talk concerning Mimi's venture into the eastern end of the rainforest, as well as the nomad birds who were known to often cajole and manipulate unsuspecting macaws into committing wicked deeds came the passing of almost fifty minutes.

By that time, the macaws were all rather anxious to return to their hollows, due to how saturated their plumage facing both forward and rearward of where they looked was, due to all of the excess water that had made its way to the clay banks. Eventually, without a single word spoken, Alberto and Costa leaned forward, their beaks pressing against the clay wall whilst they carefully spread out their wings. This was all the while the other three birds did not take notice, due to the sheer loudness of the rhythm of the Cachoeira Cintilante, rendering all of their movements inaudible.

It was only about a moment later when both Alberto and Costa slowly pulled their talons out of the softer areas of the clay wall, thus falling and quickly ascending in the air, until they made their way about two feet ahead of where they had hovered, landing on the clifftop of the northern wall. Although the brief series of events had been noticed by Eduardo, he had not reacted whatsoever, as Alberto and Costa had stood slightly above the rest of the birds, thus not getting as wet as the other members of the group. After having landed, the both of them turned around, their focus then directing towards the Torres siblings and Verde. Soon enough, Eduardo politely asked the couple whether they were planning on making their way back to their hollows or not.

"Are the two of you leaving?" Within a short time, this question not only attracted the attention of Mimi, but Verde as well, and as a result, all three birds still clinging to the clay wall now made eye contact with Alberto and Costa.

"In a short time, yes," Alberto replied following a long pause in the sound of the birds speaking, whilst he leaned forward as he unsuccessfully attempted to make eye contact with his regal friend. "It is likely that I am to be summoned by your father tonight for one reason or another. One of my patrol members informed me that your father as of this morning had requested that I serve as an instructor for any new recruits, on how to properly conduct sorties."

"Oh, poor pity me," Eduardo sighed. "Well, in that case, I am afraid that before we part for now, I will simply wish you good luck as a friend. Hopefully, this rendezvous has put to rest this utter nightmare that has gone on for far too long." In response, Alberto laughed in a rather odd manner, expressing both merriness and mockery, which only attracted negative attention on the part of the three birds. Mimi and Verde both glowered at him in both anger and confusion, while Eduardo raised his right brow, bearing a scowl on his beak before demanding from Alberto an answer as to why he was laughing at him in such a mocking manner. "What is so funny?"

At first, neither Alberto or Costa gave an answer, as Alberto remained in a constant state of laughter and Costa blushed, her eyes rolling off in the opposite direction as to pretend that she had not been caught up in an embarrassing moment between her love interest and her future Patriarch. Finally, after around ten seconds had passed since Eduardo had demanded an answer from Alberto, the bird that the former of the two had shouted at went on to respond calmly.

"I am truly sorry, Eduardo," Alberto apologized, then coughing into his right wing before resuming his explanation for why he had laughed mockingly at his friend. "Maybe you should take care into listening to my words a little more closely, perhaps? Considering the events that occurred yesterday, I would advise that. I am not leaving yet, as the sunset is now upon us, I am afraid. Look."

At this, the angry looks that Eduardo, Mimi, and Verde had all borne upon their beaks suddenly disappeared, after realizing that Eduardo had simply made the mistake of saying his goodbyes far too early. Afterward, Eduardo dug his beak into the clay wall, his eyes then rolling downward in their sockets, until they caught sight of the orange, magenta, and purple light that now shimmered across the surface of the waters borne by the Cachoeira Cintilante, whose waters had calmed significantly. Indeed, as its Portuguese name implied, it was a fall whose waters shimmered.

"Utterly stunning," he remarked almost immediately after his attention focused upon the waters borne by the Cachoeira Cintilante. Mimi and Verde then followed suite, though in stark contrast to Eduardo, neither of them spoke any words concerning the beauty displayed by the water standing far below them. The bird's observations of the Cachoeira Cintilante's waters continued for another minute or so, and with the lone exception of Costa, (whose inhaling and exhaling could be clearly heard by Alberto) they remained silent. Although the three birds still clinging to the wall could not as of now see the sunset as they faced the opposite direction of where the sun was now positioned within the air, Alberto and Costa stood beside one another, smiling as they observed the sunset from afar.

Several more minutes then came to pass, and with that, Eduardo decided that he had to satisfy his desires to lay his eyes upon the sunset upon growing rather bored of staring at the shimmering waters that composed the stream of the Cachoeira Cintilante. In order to do so, he removed his beak from the clay, followed by his talons, allowing him to fall for a brief while before promptly ascending, in the exact same manner as Alberto and Costa had done not all that long before.

He now hovered in an aerial position that was level with the clifftop, soon afterward landing. After catching his breath a moment or so later, he slowly made his way to Alberto and Costa on foot, only taking approximately half a dozen steps before halting several feet away from the couple, with both of whom now smiling at his willingness to be so close within their proximity. It would only be another several minutes until Mimi, not long afterward followed by Verde, would follow suite.

Despite the fact that the sunset was not one that was out of the ordinary in any discernible way, bearing all of the colors and patterns that one usually bore before nightfall, all five birds now held great regards for such a sight, setting their eyes upon it much longer than they typically would. Alberto still bore a smile on his beak, though he could not help but shed a tear, fearing that if an anticipated conflict were to happen, this would be one of the last sunsets that he could set his eyes upon in his lifetime. Costa took notice of this at the sound of one his tears falling from his glistening cheeks, making their way down to the rocky surface of the clifftop. She immediately turned rightward and embraced him warmly, somewhat startling Alberto, though in a pleasant enough manner as for him to verbally respond to Costa.

"Why, thank you!" Alberto exclaimed, then returning the favor his love interest had bestowed upon him by suddenly embracing her in the same cordial fashion that she had done.

"You are very much welcome!" Costa giggled, whilst Eduardo, Mimi, and Verde all smiled in the direction of the couple, clapping in applause. After the passing of several more moments, the two birds broke their embrace, tucking their wings into the sides of their body and chuckling.

The three birds now standing several feet rightward of the couple then took several deep breaths in unison, as without a single word of communication between the trio, all of them now felt that it was now an appropriate time to leave. Eduardo then turned towards Alberto and Costa, coughing into his left wing before reluctantly voicing his heartfelt farewells, as he too suspected that the moment he now shared between Alberto could very well be his last in the event of a possible surprise attack of sorts on the part of the Scarlet Macaw Tribe. Although it was possible for Verde's life to falter in an event that would soon occur, Eduardo had not spoken to him all that often, whereas Alberto had been a great friend of his since his childhood.

"Alberto, I thank you for everything, and I sincerely apologize for all of the verbal insults that I have forwarded towards you. Let us all pray that every one of us survives the endeavor that very well may take place. At the sight of this sunset, I now recognize that we cannot focus upon other matters, for that will distract us from present matters. But there is still hope that this can all be solved diplomatically, and if not, let us also hope that this situation is quick and relatively bloodless."

"You need not apologize for your recent wrongdoings against me," Alberto replied. "Your father is much more vindictive than you are, but his mere presence instills within me a sense of satisfaction. As I have said many times before over the course of our friendship, he to me fills the void that was created when my father died in my infancy, but sometimes I forget that. To be quite frank, I would apologize to him as soon as possible for forgetting such a thing. With that, it is safe to say that I appreciate you greatly, no matter what sort of negative remarks you spout at me. Farewell."

"Farewell," Eduardo and Mimi both responded in unison. Only seconds after the birds had grown silent without moving whatsoever, all of them suddenly caught the sound of fluttering butterfly wings, until soon afterward, a butterfly which bore light-blue wings gently lighted down upon Costa's beak, resting its wings atop its black body as it landed. She then gave a cheerful laugh, which was soon afterward followed by an outbreak of further cheerful laughter on the part of the other four birds. Remarkably, the butterfly that had landed upon Costa's beak remained in its position, preferring not to fly away.

Once the laughter among the Spix's Macaws concluded a number of moments later, a pause in conversation between them came to exist, but it lasted for only a brief while. Soon enough, Eduardo made several steps forward and extended his right wing in a vertical position within the air, waving a couple of times. Both Alberto and Costa waved back in the exact same manner, and finally, Verde waved back at Alberto and Costa. Only moments later, Eduardo decided that it would satisfy himself more if he could say a final few words before making his exit from the Cachoeira Cintilante, opening his beak whilst Alberto and Costa were turning around to face the jungle that stood before them.

" _Obrigado pela sua amizade. Adeus_." Alberto and Costa then turned their heads in Eduardo's direction, with Alberto repeating what he had said, though with a hopeful tone within his voice. After hearing what her brother had said only seconds earlier, Mimi could not help but say a final farewell that was similar to that of her brother's.

" _Obrigada por ser meu amigo também_ ," she spoke at first in Portuguese, before immediately afterward transitioning to speaking in the Birdish language. "I will not say the final word that my brother had said. I am going to keep to his word on his behalf, in that there is still hope for a chance to undo this utter nonsense."

"Yes, there may be," Alberto replied. "But there may not be. Goodbye!" Almost immediately after that, Alberto and Costa then redirected their focus towards the outskirts of the rainforest and within only a few seconds, were able to take flight after they had gotten into a good flying position. With that, the other three birds turned in the direction of the southern wall, also preparing themselves for flight and then finally flying at high speed only moments later.

* * *

Following the passing of thirty or so minutes, the sun had finally set, whilst Eduardo, Mimi, and Verde had all still been in flight, making their way back to their respective hollows, with Verde parting with the siblings some twenty-five minutes into the flight. Once Eduardo and Mimi had made their return, both César and Eduarda had been present as expected, and the family of four had then engaged in a rather brief discussion concerning the events that had occurred only a little more than thirty minutes prior at the Cachoeira Cintilante. After the conversation had ended, the four birds had then decided that they would not carry on with important work for at least another hour, due to the utter exhaustion that had come to both César and Eduarda.

As a result, both the parents and their adult offspring were all doing as they pleased for the time being, with all of them carrying out their activities alone; Eduardo sat several feet leftward of his stone bed whilst carefully preening the individual feathers on his wings; Mimi stood around a foot or so rightward of the hollow entrance whilst enjoying a savory jabuticaba fruit; César was inspecting the leafy head cushion that sat at the end of his bed, and Eduarda stood at the rearward end of the hollow near her mate, now also eating a jabuticaba in the same manner as her daughter.

After the passing of ten long and tedious minutes that were devoid of conversation between the members of the Torres Family, Eduardo let out a heavy sigh once he had finished preening himself, deciding that he would speak to Mimi, with the intent of reflecting upon the Cachoeira Cintilante. He then proceeded to take several steps forward in his sister's direction whilst preparing to open his beak, until suddenly, the flapping of wings at high speed could be heard, which not long afterward, was accompanied by a young male voice, one which did not at all bear any familiarity to any one member of the Torres Family.

" _Sorry, I'm just a messenger!_ " the high-pitched voice pleaded. Eduardo decided not to take any steps further, standing silent beside Mimi, who also remained silent. At the interruption of his inspection of the head cushion, César coughed, turning towards the hollow entrance and eventually coming to a halt once he stood only inches or so from the lip of the hollow entrance. Immediately upon stopping at this position in order to discern who was announcing their presence, coming into César's view was a slim, yet broad-shouldered Scarlet Macaw bearing a set of light-blue eyes, located at a distance of around fifty feet from the hollow entrance.

At the sight of a Scarlet Macaw messenger, César's eyes widened in fear, his heart thumping within his feathery chest, as he almost certainly knew what sort of news that this messenger from a hostile tribe had to bring. Eduarda then left her position at the rearward end of the hollow, directing her focus upon the Scarlet Macaw as she made her way to the hollow entrance as well on foot, until she halted once she came to stand inches behind her mate.

She too bore a great amount of concern within her mind about the news itself that the messenger had to deliver, though she still sported an optimistic smile upon her beak. Not long afterward, both Eduardo and Mimi followed suite, then coming to stand several inches behind their mother. Some ten odd seconds later, the Scarlet Macaw ascended as it prepared to land upon the branch that stood near the entrance lip, extending out his talons and descending as he did indeed land, panting heavily as he had done so. Just mere seconds after the macaw had landed, he finished catching his breath, eventually meeting eye contact with César. The middle-aged Patriarch then promptly demanded the reason for his presence.

"Who may you be, and what is your purpose for standing before me?"

"My name is Erasmo Folheto, and I'm a messenger of His Majesty, Patriarch Caetano the First, Beloved and Exalted by the Tribe of Scarlet Macaws of Amazonas."

"Is that truly his full title?" César laughed mockingly in a manner that was almost sufficient enough as to cause the messenger to laugh along with him.

"Yeah, it's long," Erasmo answered whilst bearing a smile on his light-gray beak, before transitioning the subject of the conversation to his message that he had been assigned by Caetano to deliver. "Moving on, His Majesty ordered me about two hours ago to inform you that he, along with his three most trusted generals, Aníbal, Júlio, and Oswaldo all made the unanimous vote to formally declare a State of War with your Tribe. Caetano demanded that you heed his warning which he provided to me after the declaration of war, saying that if you do not surrender and continue to deprive our Tribe of food, he will go on to launch a massive offensive against you. That's all I have to say."

Although neither César or Eduarda expressed all that much of a reaction to the news of war being formally declared, (as waiting for a declaration of war had been part of César's plan discussed at the Great Mouth) their offspring's beaks both dropped in utter horror and disbelief, denying to themselves within their minds what had just been said clearly to them. Eventually, after the news finally sank in, and that all of their hopes that desired a diplomatic solution to the crisis were crushed in an instant, Eduardo outright snapped, shouting madly at the top of his lungs at the Scarlet Macaw.

"NO! YOU ARE AN UTTER LIAR!" Mimi then began to shed tears, deciding it would be best for her to make her way back towards her bed of stone, all the while Eduardo started cursing at and threatening Erasmo whilst pacing back in forth in furious denial. Erasmo's reaction to Eduardo's shrill cries bore a sense of horror, something he had not expected, as he had been warned by Caetano that César would have provided the worst reaction of animosity towards him out of all the birds he would likely encounter.

Rather, his expectations had been met with opposite results, though he assumed this was because César and Eduarda had been hoping for a declaration of war to take place, affirming his belief that the Spix's Macaw Tribe were the ones who had all along, attempted to starve his entire Tribe into submission for the benefit of César and Eduarda. Unexpectedly, César then smiled at Erasmo, before warning him that it would be best to leave immediately.

"You need not worry concerning me, for I will not lay a feather on you. I am not furious, and even if I was, it would be rather unsavory of me to cause a diplomatic incident of sorts immediately following a declaration of war. However, my son may become angry enough for him to have his way with you. Leave now, fool!" With that, Erasmo nodded in compliance, then gulping at the sight of Eduardo screeching every word of anger that left his beak, before finally turning around and taking off from the branch as ordered by César. Some thirty odd seconds later, he made a rightward turn, finally leaving the view of the Torres Family.

After Erasmo had left, Eduardo's throat began throbbing, his tearful eyes flickering every now and again as he sobbed in anguish, before making his way to his bed of stone and covering his pale-green eyes with his right wing. In the wake of her brother's meltdown, Mimi thought about aiding her brother for a while, but as she was almost as horrified about the news as Eduardo, she decided she would not be sufficient in helping her brother, thus she waited minute or so until Eduarda came to help him. Eduarda now stood a foot or so behind her son, slowly placing her left wing upon his shoulder, before murmuring to him in her soft, gentle voice.

"Eduardo, you will be protected, do not worry." Seconds later, Eduardo removed his wing from his face in an unsuccessful attempt to conceal his tears, before promptly turning around and shouting at his mother in anger.

"It is not myself that I am worried about! My friends may die!" At this, Eduarda's eyes widened in distraught, almost bringing her to tears as well, though she resisted the urge to cry, as she did want for César to be the only member of the family whose cheeks remained dry. She then turned around and made her way towards her mate, before speaking to him, bearing much concern in her voice.

"He is quite upset about the possibility of his friends being sent off to battle, it seems. I am afraid that simply trying to soothe him like a chick will serve no purpose. I believe you should relieve Alberto of his duties so that Eduardo feels more comfortable about our plan."

"Well, as Matriarch, you too bear the authority to make such decisions," César replied. "I recommend that you be the one to take care of that. I must leave for Mar's hollow if I want to speak with him. If my plan is to succeed, we need a rapid mobilization to be executed within a matter of days. Every male capable of fighting except for those already assigned to essential duties will be obligated to fight." A few minutes then came to pass, and by then, the number of tears within Eduardo's eyes had significantly died down, while his mother and sister stood beside one another some five feet to his left, anticipating his recovery from his mental breakdown.

This was before César made his way towards the hollow entrance and made his exit, intent on reaching the hollow inhabited by his greatest military commander. Once he had left the hollow, all grew quiet, including Eduardo, though his cheeks were still soaked in tears. Several minutes of eerie silence then went by, all the while Eduardo and Mimi both bore upon their beaks looks that conveyed utter despair.

Because of the emotions that had gone on between the two siblings, both of them went on to decide not long afterward to enter their beds early, with not a single word spoken between either of them, as both of them were far too upset at the moment to communicate any ideas or actions in a verbal manner. Moments later, Eduarda, despite her unwillingness to even look upon her son or daughter as to avoid crying, eventually made several steps forward in the direction of their beds, before stopping and then leaning into the first shelf of stone that served as her son's bed.

After that, her eyes rolled down within their sockets, focusing upon Eduardo, before she finally leaned forward by a few further inches and used her beak to kiss her son on his feathery forehead, in the same manner she had done nearly every night over the many years he had been a chick. At the sight of a smile forming upon Eduardo's beak, a tear of joy then proceeded to run down Eduarda's left cheek, before she smiled as well, gave a brief, yet cheerful laugh, and turned around, making her exit from the hollow within roughly a minute in order to catch up to César.

Within the two Torres siblings' dreams that occurred within their minds over the next several hours, a great many bizarre events pertaining to the war came to happen. Both fortunate and unfortunate events of numerous varieties went on to take place within those dreams, though regardless of the nature of Eduardo's dreams, he could not help but retain his smile that had been the result of his mother's nurturing kiss for the entirety of his slumber.

 _ **Author's Fact of the Day:**_

 _ **The appearance of the Cachoeira Cintilante is very heavily inspired off that of the real Kaieteur Falls in Guyana, bordering Brazil to the north.**_


	12. Orders and Quarrels

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello, everyone! As of now, I would simply like to provide to you an announcement of sorts (which a few of my readers have already received via PM) that pertains to this story: a number of early chapters of "Don't Go" will undergo revisions, though none of the events that occur within these revised chapters will be altered. Updating the dialogue to my current continuity is the primary focus, while any spelling or grammatical errors that had bypassed me will be corrected. Other than that, the first chapter will be the only one in which the descriptions will be changed to an extensive degree, while in the rest of the chapters, only redundant detail will be removed for the most part. Let's fly!**_

Now tightly concentrated in each and every hollow that stood within a close proximity to the Torres Tree, the air had over the past hour or so, become so stiflingly hot as to swiftly drive entire families of birds out of their natural abodes. As of now, the early morning sky was largely absent of clouds, the time now standing at approximately 6:30 AM.

Some fifteen minutes prior, Eduardo had awoken and had arisen from his bed of stone, before having promptly made his way towards a relatively small tree that had collapsed a great many years ago, as a result of drastic precipitation that had come about during that time. Now lying along the forest floor for use as a perch on its rightward side, it was positioned some three minutes west of the Torres Tree, and was constantly used by the hundreds of macaws that resided within the trees located relatively close by.

For a brief while, Eduardo had also searched for fruit and had subsequently found an araçá tree, eating two fruits that he had selected due to their sound condition. After that, he had made his way back to the fell tree and had begun using it as a perch as he had intended. Ironically, he now stood upright in a posture that unintentionally conveyed a sense of confidence, despite Eduardo not feeling confident in the slightest, due to the news that had been brought to him the night before.

For the next several moments, his focus was all but completely fixated upon the faint, yet wondrous colors of orange, pink, and blue, all of which were borne by the morning sky, accompanied by the white and silky blanket of cirrostratus clouds that concealed much of the sky from view. Whilst his attention could hardly part at all with the sky that ran its course as it did every day, he could not help but relive the recent memory of the sunset that he, his sister, Alberto, Costa, and Verde had all shared together the previous day.

His memory of the breathtaking view of the sunset that he and his companions had all obtained was subsequently accompanied by the sharp whistles that were used by the many screaming pihas that inhabited the Tribal territory, as part of their efforts to garner the attention of potential mates. As the somewhat smaller birds constantly adjusted their pitches whilst maintaining their positions along several assortments of branches from afar, Eduardo cherished the mere sound of their calls.

In fact, he cherished not only their calls, but the entire moment that he was now living through. Now that war had officially been declared, he knew that his attempts to soothe himself by staring at the colors of the sunrise, twilight, and sunset would distract him from the reality of the world that he lived in, of which he prayed would not be as cruel to his Tribe as he expected it to be.

With this realization in mind, he abandoned any thoughts of his own that concerned any sort of dispelling of his sorrows that would eventually come. Still, Eduardo did desire to find a sense of joy, whether it would be spent with his friends and family or not. In order to bring to himself any essence of joy whilst still refraining from any sort of attempt at assuring himself that his past optimism would hold true, he looked at the colors of the natural phenomena. He now directed his focus towards not a thing but the sky, as to appreciate the display of beauty as much as he possibly could, in case he could never focus his eyes upon such a sight ever again.

After all, Eduardo had finally come to accept the fact that it would be almost certain that if the Scarlet Macaw Tribe were to proceed with an offensive against the Spix's Macaw Tribe as they had threatened the night before, their forces would quickly annihilate any defensive on the part of César's Spix's Macaw Army. He also knew that in all probability that during such an offensive, he would be considered a high-priority target by both Caetano and his generals, which he assumed were now in the middle of plotting their legion's flight courses for the opening offensive that was soon to come.

Eduardo then went on to abandon his confident posture that he had held along the fell tree not long before, now shivering in terror at even pondering about the manner in which he would be killed at the behest of Caetano. Not long afterward, both his shivering and his grotesque predictions fortunately came to a halt, after the sound of wing beats had reached his ears. Almost instantaneously, Eduardo's position along the tree transitioned from one in which his body and beak drooped over the edge of its surface area to one in which he stood completely upright, his feathered head jolting into the empty air in fear. Before he even turned around to see who was flying behind him, he sighed in embarrassment, after having reacted in such a fearful manner at the mere sound of wingbeats.

Reckoning that his mind had associated the sound with the wingbeats that had been produced by the Scarlet messenger Erasmo, Eduardo flapped his own wings multiple times whilst his feet still retained contact with the tree, as a measure to ease his mind over such a commonplace sound. Only seconds later, he turned in the opposite direction to visually pinpoint the bird that was the source of the wing beats, though by the time he had turned around, the sound of the wing beats had ceased. César immediately came into his son's view, who now seemed to be gliding towards him at a relatively slow pace, though he would occasionally flap his wings some two or three times consecutively, in order to keep himself aloft.

At the sight of his father flying and gliding about at such an early hour, Eduardo came to bear a look expressing a great amount of not only surprise, but also relief, as he felt that speaking with one of his parents would at least alleviate a number of his concerns for a short time. Once César surpassed a small collection of thin branches and twigs as he elegantly descended within the air, he quickly began to ascend as he flapped his wings several more times, eventually reaching the fell tree.

As César proceeded to land some two feet to the left of where Eduardo stood, his body turned upwards whilst he continued flapping his wings, then using his talons to penetrate the rotted bark of the fell tree as his feet wrapped around its surface area, all the while his son's eyes constantly followed him. Only a moment later, Eduardo greeted his father in a friendly manner, coughing into his wing upon the first word of his sentence.

"Dad! How are you awake at a time such as this? I can only reckon that you entered your bed about an hour after I had entered mine."

"Well, your assumption is more accurate than what I expected you to say," César answered in an uplifting tone. "I fell asleep some three hours after you did. Speaking to Mar about an extremely rapid mobilization of our legions was the primary subject concerning those three more hours I spent awake. To the adverse of that, I had to aid one of my healers in finding his medical leaves whilst I was in the middle of conversing with Mar, though we thankfully continued the conversation. Thenceforth, we discussed a number of other matters, concerning a couple of council members who have recently fallen ill, though I assured him that they would both recover. After that, I made my way home and spoke with your mother for a brief while, until I was finally overcome by the need for sleep."

"What sort of assumption on my part were you expecting, then?" Eduardo questioned, bearing a rather suspicious look on his beak.

"One which would have involved you assuming that I had entered my bed only a few minutes after you had entered yours," César laughed in an unusually merry fashion. "I am quite surprised that you did not immediately respond to my information with a question regarding the conversation I held with Mar."

"Actually, I was planning on doing so right -" Eduardo began, before being interrupted by César.

"As you are my son, I shall adhere to your request, and apart from that, I would have informed you about the subject regardless. Anyway, Mar predicts that since Caetano has already declared war upon us, it is likely that my planned offensive must be executed swiftly. Now, we can only muster the very best who are actively on patrol, as there is little time for training new recruits. It is indeed a massive risk, as there are only some three-hundred macaws inhabiting this Tribe who have been deemed fit for battle by both Mar and his dozen or so messengers. There is a chance that if we carry out the offensive immediately, we risk losing our finest warriors, provided that the Scarlet Tribe has already prepared their defenses at the Amazon River. However, our Tribe will almost certainly be conquered if we dare wait at all."

"And when is '"immediately,"' exactly?" Eduardo asked in a tone that bore within it a great amount of concern. For the next several odd seconds, César stood contemplating in utter silence, while Eduardo's racing heart could be clearly heard by both of the birds as it pounded within his feathery chest in fear.

"Tomorrow, I am afraid," César finally answered, simultaneously predicting that his son would not respond all that well to his words. To his surprise however, Eduardo did not respond to his words with any discernible reaction at all. He did not descend into madness, nor did the lower portion of his beak drop near his throat, and most astounding of all, a full smile almost came to appear on his beak. At this, César could simply not manage to conceal his astonishment, as his eyes widened whilst his beak displayed a look of utter bewilderment. Seconds later, Eduardo provided his enthusiastic reasoning for appearing to have been affected in a positive manner by the news that his father had bestowed upon him.

"Let the both of us be thankful that such an event will not occur on this day."

"Certainly," César chuckled following his recovery from his astonishment. Afterward, he turned his focus away from his son and directed it towards the vast jungle that stood before him. Upon doing so, he turned towards Eduardo and began to address him, the tone of his voice conveying great seriousness. "I advise that you use the time provided by this day in a wise manner, and that you spend the morning with either your mother or your sister. Unfortunately, I must carry on with my other duties as the Patriarch of a Tribe that is officially at war. However, you must hasten your flight to the hollow. Another messenger who recently returned from Manacapuru informed me yesterday that a substantial amount of rain is to come in the afternoon of today. Go! Part with me quickly!"

Then nodding in compliance, Eduardo obeyed his father's command, taking flight and subsequently turning around some few seconds afterward, now traveling via wing accordingly to the linear flight path that would be required for his return to the hollow. Following the turn that had been made on his part, Eduardo eventually surpassed both the fell tree and his father that both stood approximately ten odd feet below him, dramatically increasing his speed upon doing so.

Once Eduardo had flown far beyond where his father's eyesight could still pinpoint his aerial location, (as he had already disappeared behind the trees and the more dense areas of the rainforest) César let out a heavy sigh that conveyed a sense of disappointment, despite the fact that he had been the bird that had ordered his son's hasty departure. A further minute then came to pass, which had been used in its entirety by César to reflect on the decision that he had made only moments prior.

He certainly felt a small amount of regret within himself as of now, as he truly desired to speak with his son for an extended period and nothing more. However, César also recognized that if victory was to be achieved in the recently-declared war that had finally come to beset his Tribe, he would have to wait until after the battle took place, scheduled for the following day. With that, he sighed once more in the same manner that he had done not long before, until deeming the moment as an appropriate time to make haste for Mar's hollow.

César followed on this decision about a moment afterward, by spreading out his wings, ripping his talons out of the inside of the rotted bark with great force, and finally making a leap of some two feet forward, arising from his position within the air as he began flying about. He continued flying straight ahead for a brief period before turning around and heading west in a similar manner to how Eduardo had done.

Unlike his son however, he had flown in a circular pattern around the fell tree instead of simply making a swift turn within the air. Much more similar to what Eduardo had done moments before however, was when César then began to rapidly accelerate the pace at which he flew, surpassing dozens of feet of foliage-covered terrain within a matter of seconds.

* * *

Approximately three short hours had gone by since Eduardo had once again returned to the Torres Tree as his father had instructed him to, then having subsequently spoken with Eduarda and Mimi for a long while. A great many topics that were largely merry in nature had been touched upon, though the mother, her son, and her daughter had all made their departure from their hollow the following hour, in order to satisfy their morning appetites with a great many berries of several varieties. Once this task had been accomplished on their part, they had made their way back to the Torres Tree yet again, then heading north for the Great Mouth, in order to properly discuss more serious topics in a setting that was seen in macaw etiquette as proper to do so.

As of now, Eduarda was sitting upon the same seat that she usually occupied during a typical meeting in the Great Mouth. She now adjusted the position of her long tail feathers along the edge of her seat, then raising her head and focusing her attention leftward. Thus, she made eye contact with her son that had been named after her, now sitting in the seat that stood beside hers.

Eduardo subsequently went on to maintain the eye contact that he shared with his mother for a little while upon receiving it, before his attention eventually transitioned to Mimi, who now sat upon the seat that stood to the right of Eduarda. All three birds then began clearing their throats, preparing to converse with one another. The mother of the Torres siblings then directed her attention towards the stone pedestal that her mate usually stood upon, before subsequently initiating the conversation, speaking in a very formal tone as her words left her beak.

"War is upon all of us as we now speak, I am afraid," she began, before looking towards Mimi and then to Eduardo. "I know that the two of you have had your senses of hope all but evaporated, though I -"

"Well, not exactly," Eduardo interjected. "Dad said that his offensive is to take place tomorrow. Thank Selva that our call to battle is not on this day."

"Your cheerfulness is granted," Eduarda then responded. "But it is not advised on my part."

"And why would you not advise one to be bear a sense of optimism?" Mimi objected.

"Because you as adults must learn that if you blind yourself with hope, you cannot see anything beyond it," their mother somberly answered. "Simply hoping that we survive is perfectly healthy in my view, but as I said earlier, ignoring the possibilities of Scarlet spies watching our every move is something that I would urge both of you to not continue. They may be taking our words into account and carry out the invasion in a few hours from now. Although there is no evidence that the Scarlet Macaws are surveilling every word that leaves our beaks, they are much craftier than one would assume. If any bird came to me at this moment and attempted to affirm their stance that not one bird from that Tribe is conducting clandestine work here, I would simply scoff at them."

"Then how is it so that not a single spy or informant has yet been caught?" Eduardo argued.

"None of our many spies operating within their territory have been caught either," Eduarda rebutted, these words causing Eduardo to swallow hard in nervousness. After that, he did not at all hesitate to admit the fact that his argument against his mother's seemingly-paranoid attitude had only proven her words nothing short of utterly rational.

"I suppose you are right. Yet again, I am only a mere son of yours."

"That is very true. However, your son or daughter that will be borne upon you by your previously-gravid mate will one day repeat those words to you, once he or she gains the ability to speak in our tongue. Do not forget the sacred position that you will eventually inherit."

"Yes, Mom, I know, but I can only call myself a mere son at the moment. As all of us are under threat, my life may falter as a son, and only as a son, not as a Patriarch."

"You need not speak of such things, Eddy!" Mimi scolded. "If anyone is to pass at the wings of a wave of red, it shall be anyone but you and those that will become your most loyal subjects!"

"Excuse me, Mimi, but that is simply not how fate is decided!" Eduardo retorted. "If I shan't die within this war, then that is the choice of not one bird amongst us!"

"Well then, I would give my life for yours if need be!" Mimi protested. "I voluntarily refused the future position of Matriarch, and with that, I think that I bear the will to allow myself to perish if it means continuing this Tribe in the name of its rightful heir!"

"Sorry, but if it is so that the Scarlets have in their possession a weapon that was crafted by the humans, those who encounter such a weapon shall almost certainly die. I cannot see where the weapon lies, nor can I see where the Scarlets plan to implement its power, whatever that power may be! If you were seen by the weapon's bearer, your fate would be sealed. My fate would be no different if I was seen by the weapon's bearer! There is simply no choice between whose body is to lie still on the forest floor and whose body is to remain lively! Both of us must remain cautious no matter the circumstances!"

"ENOUGH!" Eduarda suddenly intervened. "Your attitudes would almost warrant my hesitation as to call you adults! For God's sake, shut your beaks, both of you!" In response to their mother's outburst, the two siblings blushed, before both of them simultaneously attempted to excuse their unacceptable behavior, whilst they both stammered over their words as they could find no excuses within their minds. After Eduarda stared daggers at both of them whilst bearing a dirty look upon her beak for a very brief period, her offspring exchanged glances that conveyed feelings of guilt to one another, then hanging their heads in shame.

Soon thereafter, both the siblings and their mother resumed their banter, though the tones in which they spoke had reverted to those that they had borne within their voices at the start of the conversation. Mimi began the reversion to the friendlier manner in which the family had spoken to one another. In the hopes of perhaps returning her mother to her renowned vivaciousness and loving nature, she deliberately strayed away from the topic of the war that had been declared upon their Tribe.

"Now apologizing for my recent wrongdoings on my own behalf to you, Mom, I would like transition this conversation to one bearing much pleasantness within -"

"Do not blind yourself with whimsical distractions!" Eduarda cut in, now speaking in a tone of frustration that was unrecognizable as to how she typically spoke to her offspring. "What did I say only moments prior, Mimi? Provided that your hopes consist of the abrupt end to inevitable events that will occur, you will not at all help yourself. As I said before, the only hopes of yours that you can bear at the moment that do not simultaneously serve as a denial of reality itself are those that compose of your precious life not being claimed by the Scarlet legions! All three of us must prepare for what is about to take place, and that is what I advise! If you do not learn to differentiate events in which there is hope for a peaceful end to a declared conflict, you will meet a fool's end like Luís did many years ago!"

"Negotiations are still in the matter of consideration!" Mimi shot back. "One day remains between us and them, engaging one another's forces on the field of battle. That single day can indeed be spent with an act of diplomacy of some sort." At his sister's words, Eduardo came to bear an expression conveying a great amount of pain, as he used his wingtips to protect his ears from their mother's eventual response.

"QUIET!" Eduarda snapped once again in an exasperated manner, her entire array of facial feathers now so red as to resemble the predominant color of feathers borne by the Scarlet Macaws. "Negotiating with an individual such as Caetano is just as foolish as trying to do so with the jaguars over the matter of our many unborn chicks that they have killed. Caetano deliberately manipulated his own subjects out of personal gain and nothing more. He would only reason with us in a diplomatic fashion if his life absolutely depended on such a thing. Even if we ceded to him vast territories, he would still find offense in the mere existence of our Tribe and try to find some sort of nonsensical excuse to invade it."

"Well then, perhaps we can provide to him a concession in one of our Brazil Nut Groves as to prevent him from claiming starvation of his subjects as an act on our part?"

" _What did I just say, Mimi?_ " Eduarda uttered, now undoubtedly furious. As a matter of fact, the manner in which she had spoken those words had been so frightening as to leave Eduardo trembling wildly within his seat, whilst his pale-green eyes now shrunk within their sockets as he gulped once more. His mother then continued, though not before her beak's nostrils provided vent to her fury. "Attempting to negotiate with a determined enemy and hoping that peace will be bestowed upon us by the heavens will accomplish nothing apart from the annexation of our territory into theirs! It is truly a pity that my own daughter seems to have been overcome by utter stupidity, is it not?"

Eduardo became almost petrified at his mother's last sentence, the two portions of his beak now quivering as he hastily pondered about any sort of word that he felt could at least ease tensions between Eduarda and Mimi. A number of extremely tense moments then came to pass, and by now, Eduardo had contemplated long enough to where he decided that he would once again mention that a full day of peace still existed. It was indeed a day which could be used by the Torres Family to cherish the final moments of peace together, as they prepared themselves for the uncertain events that would eventually play out in a relatively short while.

"STOP!" he then pleaded in desperation, his throat subsequently throbbing as he repeated that word several more times. "STOP! STOP! JUST PLEASE, STOP!" At these pleas, the scowls that had been present on both the beaks of Eduarda and Mimi then suddenly faded at a gradual pace, until they no longer appeared to hold any sort of negative emotions within themselves towards one another.

The latter of the two birds sighed in defeat, as she had finally come to agree with her mother's position pertaining to the issue that they had discussed, though Eduarda looked utterly horrified, despite the victory that she had just achieved in her simmering argument with her daughter. For a brief period, she could not find any words within her extensive vocabulary that she could use to express her apologies for not only the hostile manner in which she had argued with Mimi, but also the sheer amount of emotional stress that the argument had inflicted upon Eduardo.

However, much to Eduarda's surprise, not a single tear ever came to pass in a downward direction along her son's cerulean feathered cheeks. He completely recovered only some forty or so seconds after he had made his pleas for a halt to the argument, his heart no longer racing at all. Soon afterward, he spoke once again, this time conveying his thoughts pertaining to the argument itself in a tone that could only be described as one bearing within it a great amount of serenity.

"Please, do not lament over the pain that is ongoing within my mind, for you are indeed correct. Still, as our armies are not supposed to be engaged in combat until tomorrow, I advise that we appreciate the valuable time that we have been given to spend with one another. That was the only reason that Dad sent me to the hollow so early to start with. I know now that trying to soothe ourselves would prove not only futile, but dangerous. Nonetheless, there is no reason that we cannot discuss subjects of lesser importance with the time we have been provided."

Upon her beak, Eduarda could not help but bear an astonished look, bearing great resemblance to the similar expression that had been on the part of César some three hours earlier, particularly when Eduardo had reacted positively upon receiving his father's word of an immediate mobilization. In spite of her son's friendly decline of her apology, she was still overwhelmed with guilt for the scene that she had been solely responsible for intensifying. It was truly the first time in her view that she had betrayed her role as a loving mother, a duty that was sacred in nature to her Tribe. As a result of her guilt, her eyes gradually grew ever the more wet, whilst the sclerae of eyes simultaneously transitioned from a solid white (that was akin to that which was borne by the clouds) to a faint shade of crimson.

By the time that Eduardo decided to speak once more, his thoughts concerning the topic that he planned to speak of were visually interrupted upon catching sight of his mother using her wingtips to dab her glistening tears across her feathery cheeks, in a vain attempt to conceal her tears. In fact, rather than hiding her tears from view, Eduarda's efforts had resulted in her tears being rendered far more visible, as most of her face was now soaked in them. Eduardo then provided to her a look of utmost sympathy, and not long afterward, Mimi followed suite. Following the passing of several more moments, Eduarda brought herself to speak again, now simply asking about the nature of the pleasant banter that her son had in mind.

"Very well then. Your wish on my part is both granted and advised. Now, concerning the subjects that you wish to discuss, you may begin."

"Thank you," Eduardo responded appreciatively, whilst he bowed his head to his mother. After that, he finally opened his beak in preparation to provide a wish to his mother, then doing so after a further three seconds passed. "Although I am seven years of age and an adult, I would find such a thing as music to the ears in such unpleasant times if you told the both of us a story."

"Is that what you want?" Eduarda asked, somewhat befuddled at the unusual request. "Well… You and I have both stated that we should not attempt to hide ourselves from the real world, but… Perhaps I can bear to tell you what might be the last story any of us will ever hear."

"Can it be one of those archaic stories from the era of Federico the First?" Mimi promptly begged.

"No," Eduarda sighed. "On the contrary, it is one that I recently wrote myself for specific events, provided that I am ever called upon by my friends to temporarily safeguard their chicks."

"Can it please be something along the lines of _A Rite of the Humans_?" Eduardo implored, which in turn left his mother's eyes rolling within their sockets in slight frustration. After that, Eduarda provided her reasoning for refusing the requests that had been forwarded to her by her offspring, though she tactfully spoke in a tone that conveyed positivity, garnering the attention of both Eduardo and Mimi.

"My current understanding is that the both of you desire to ease the stress that is being projected upon your minds by the world around you. For I am your mother, I see it as my duty upon observing your emotional states to provide such a story that will ease your minds."

"Fine," Mimi groaned, then engaging in awry thought concerning her friends for a brief period.

"Alright, carry on," Eduardo added. After that, the two siblings' mother inhaled and exhaled for a moment before clearing her throat once again, subsequently releasing the words that composed the story's entirety from her beak. Whilst she recited her own story, she intentionally kept her eyes shut, as a means for her to vividly capture what she now described before her son and daughter.

" _On the seventh night of April, Selva provided a gleaming rainbow of many colors that suddenly hovered over the Tribal Territory and its subjects on the hour of midnight. Jacinto the First exhaled with joy as he set his focus upon the wondrous starlight that illuminated all that lied below the canopy, before administering a warm kiss on the cheek of his mate Carolina, whom of which stood beside him. After that, the starlight was followed by moonbeams, whose dazzling light reflected upon the surface of the dark and uncertain Amazonian waters. A gentle, calming rainfall then passed over the canopy of the rainforest, the many water droplets elegantly trickling down its light-green leaves. Until the balmy twilight set in, stars of numerous varieties were present, all glimmering as the macaws now slept within their hollows_."

After Eduarda finally opened her eyes upon saying the last word of the concluding sentence, she looked to her offspring, both of whom now bearing loving smiles on their beaks. Even Mimi, who had intentionally ignored the first sentence or so of the story out of protest to her mother's denial to adhere to her request, now bore a look on her beak conveying the very thing that she had argued so intensely with her mother over - hope. Eduardo could not help but sport the exact same expression, and finally, the siblings' mother eventually went on to convey the same look as well.

Eduarda then sighed in relief, before initiating more banter between the two macaws that sat beside her shortly thereafter, of which concerned many subjects pertaining to moments that the three birds had all shared together, as well as with those that they had also shared with César.

* * *

From the view that was provided by the very large tree that belonged to one of César's trusted military commanders named Augusto, a storm seemed to be brewing on the horizon, with much of the sky being obstructed from sight by a single cloud that was utterly enormous in size. The cloud itself was almost certainly one which would bring a sizable amount of rainfall, as it now bore a similar hue of gray to that shared by the beaks of the Spix's Macaws themselves.

César himself now stood along the tree's largest and broadest branch, of which reached out into the air by some four feet, positioned somewhat offset to the right of the hollow entrance. To his right along the same branch stood Mar, and to his left stood arguably his most zealously-loyal bodyguard, named Jeremias Benito. However, he was almost always referred to by both his cadets and César alike as "Jeto," a portmanteau of both his given name and surname.

A relatively young macaw that was somewhat tall in stature and featured light-azure plumage, he was quite slim, far more so than either Mar or César, though this was largely due to his often-restricted eating habits. His shoulders were rather rounded, and his long tail feathers (whose shape resembled the blades of knives) sloped upward in the air by a slight degree. The most striking features concerning his appearance were his unusually narrow beak (of which was light-gray in color) and the three horizontal rows of very small and neatly-arranged feathers that arose an inch or two in the air, located at the back of his head.

His light-brown eyes blinked frequently as he patiently whistled to himself, waiting for César to conclude his meteorological observations. Mar did the same, albeit his occasional yawning that would occur at least once per minute, due to the very negligible amount of sleep that he had obtained over the past few days.

To the slight dismay of both Mar and Jeto, César then went beyond simply observing the clouds that lied far ahead, now peering at the slightest details, including the hints of darker gray within them that would appear, disappear, and reappear in rapid succession. Though he did not usually take human observations as undeniable fact, he could not help but agree with what their meteorological reports had predicted days earlier. Finally, after some three odd minutes of further observation of the looming storm clouds, César coughed, then calmly addressing his companions.

"I reckon that the weather will be quite unpleasant. Because of this, Jeto, I order you to proceed with all intensive combat and camouflage training sessions immediately. If we postpone them any further, the weather will almost certainly interrupt them; and Mar, I require that if our offensive is to be in any way fruitful, you must summon almost all of our warriors and patrolmen to our southeastern border at Ilha de Araponga, beyond our own concession to the Amazon River. Remain there until the following day, which is when I will arrive and order for our forces to press onward into the jungle. After that, we shall infiltrate the Scarlet border on the island and conduct minor reconnaissance, before carrying out the assault on the Scarlet's end of the Amazon River. If severe casualties beset us, we shall retreat from the island."

"With all due respect, My Patriarch, if we make use of our entire army at the southeastern border, our central and northern borders may succumb to invasion on the part of the enemy," Mar objected. "We must maintain at least some form of security in those areas. If not, the Scarlets are almost guaranteed to bestow upon us what we will have bestowed upon them. Any offensive of theirs would be extremely difficult to ward off, considering that their mere population alone dwarfs ours by a significant margin."

"I understand the factors for which you voice your rational concerns," César politely responded. "As a matter of fact, I simply ordered for you to summon _almost_ all of our men to Ilha de Araponga, not all of them. I need a force of approximately fifty men to patrol our other borders."

"Very well then," Mar sighed. "As such, I now sincerely express my utmost apologies. Are there any other orders pertaining to my duties as of now, My Patriarch?"

"Yes, and ones that are important no less. Although not directly relating to my offensive, I also need as many birds in our legions as possible in order to guarantee its effectiveness, along with a great amount of careful planning and coordination. Because of this, I request that you recall every one of our spies that are currently operating in Scarlet territory. If any spies of ours fail to report back to our territory, presume that they have either been killed or captured by the enemy. I will only authorize rescue missions if another spy happens to bear witness of a comrade's injury that prevented him from returning. Am I understood?"

"Indeed, you are, My Patriarch!" Jeto answered for Mar, who then shot Jeto a look conveying a sense of frustration from across the length of the branch. Immediately after that, César continued observing the weather, though as he did not give an order for dismissal to the two other birds, it was clear that he still intended to speak about other matters. As a result, Mar began contemplating, his thoughts pertaining to a subject concerning the battle that was equally, if not more important than the battle's preparations - the order of the battle itself. Seconds later, he decided to forward his question about the subject to César.

"My Patriar -" he began.

"Please, Mar, refer to me by my given name," the Tribal leader then interrupted.

"I am sorry then," Mar apologized, before reverting to the subject that he had desired to speak of. "Now, I advise that we discuss our overall tactical strategy, as well as the manner in which this ingenious plan of yours will be executed."

"Of course!" César exclaimed, promptly making eye contact with Mar. "It would be rather foolish to assume that I would not have touched upon that subject; as I mentioned before, we shall position all of our offensive forces at Ilha de Araponga, divided into three separate attack units, with the first two comprised of one-hundred birds each, while the latter will consist of only half that number. Two hours past dawn, we shall overrun the Scarlet Tribe's concession to the island, thus establishing a strong defensive position within the Amazon River. The first division will then charge across the Amazon River and overcome any defenses present at the Scarlet edge of the Amazon Basin, which is the primary target of the assault, as you already know."

"And what are the assigned roles to the second and third divisions, My Patriarch?" Jeto asked. "Are they supposed to complement our main offensive force?"

"In a way," César answered. "Whilst our first division will carry out the main offensive, the second division shall then divide into two subdivisions of fifty birds each and make their way both east and west, also overcoming Scarlet defenses in those areas in the same fashion as the first division. In addition to that, the third division will remain at the island during the duration of the initial assault, provided that the first division does not sustain very high casualties. Once all of the Scarlet defensive positions succumb to our offensive, all of the divisions will push forward into the jungle and eventually reunite as a single offensive unit. Then, we will keep on luring in Scarlet defenses and whittle their numbers down whilst camouflaged, until we reach the center of the Tribe and finally reinstate the reign of José Vermelho."

"That is utterly brilliant, My Patriarch!" Jeto remarked with great enthusiasm.

"Your praise is utmost appreciated," César thanked, before transitioning to another subject. "I can only assume that the two of you would like to provide me an inquiry, one which concerns our roles in this offensive. As for myself, I will lead the first division; Mar, you shall lead the second division, and when it eventually divides, I will have you lead the offensive to the east, and Augusto will lead the offensive to the west; and Jeto, you will command the third division. As for our defensive patrol forces that will safeguard our borders whilst the battle is taking place, I will have Alberto command them, as it does not carry all that much risk. After all, Eduardo would be nothing short of devastated of the loss of his greatest friend on the field of battle. Only I would be at fault if such an event was to occur."

"And why is that so?" Mar queried.

"Because I was a complete and utter fool when I had decided not to intervene in this upheaval to peace when it began," César expressed in a manner that conveyed a strong amount of guilt. "Had I sent our legions to rid the Scarlet Tribe of Caetano's nightmarish terror, he would have never gained the strength required to threaten the existence of this centuries-old civilization. If the Spix's Macaw Tribe capitulates to an illegitimate ruler, tell the young to not look upon me fondly; do not erect any monument that graces my name, nor should you hold any debates in the Great Mouth concerning the matter; I would hesitate to say that I would deserve even a mere grave or funeral if such a thing were to happen."

"You need not worry, My Patriarch, our forces receive the finest training in the Amazon," Jeto attempted to assure.

"That statement may bear much truth to it," César replied. "However, we must be careful, and everything must be coordinated correctly. If not, it simply cannot be stated just how disastrous this situation might become."

"I understand, My Patriarch. Shall my training sessions commence?"

"Indeed, they shall. You are both dismissed." After César provided this last order, the three birds standing along the branch then gradually dispersed via wing, all of them now flying to other locations that were seen as important for them to carry out their duties within the Spix's Macaw Tribe.

 _ **Author's Fact of the Day:**_

 _ **Portuguese is an official language in Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, São Tomé e Príncipe, East Timor, and Macau. It is also spoken to a limited extent in certain areas of Uruguay and India, while creole forms of the language are spoken in small regions of Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Malaysia.**_


End file.
